RICS guidance note

RICS Professional Guidance, Global

Strategic facilities management

1st edition

rics.org/guidance
 Strategic facilities management

ii RICS guidance note

 rics.org

Strategic facilities management

RICS guidance note, global
1st edition

Acknowledgments
This guidance has been produced collaboratively, recognising
that the facilities management sector is populated by a wide
range of professionals from a variety of different backgrounds,
many of whom have come to the profession with experience
in the construction and servicing of buildings. It is hoped that
this publication will assist in drawing together the facilities
management ‘community’, which is already benefitting from
a more holistic approach to many issues affecting the sector.
In particular, the more integrated and collaborative approach to
education and training is a considerable benefit to the sector in
helping aspiring facilities managers to pick the most appropriate
training route.
The Steering Committee provided valuable advice and oversight
to the author and particular thanks are due to:
Kath Fontana, Managing Director, BAM FM
Marc Selby, Property Director, MITIE Shared Services Ltd
Stan Mitchell, KEY Facilities Management International
Stephen Shallcroft, Director Corporate Real Estate, ARCADIS NV
Rory Murphy, Divisional Commercial Director, Vinci Facilities
Thanks are also extended to David Emmanuel, Managing Director
of the facilities management dedicated i-fm.net website1 to which
access was granted to the author to assist with the production
of the guidance (see www.i-fm.net).
The author, Alan D White, is a member of the RICS Corporate
Occupier Group and the Public Sector Executive Group as well
as being involved with commercial property and consultancy
businesses and a number of academic institutions.

Published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Surveyor Court, Westwood Business Park, Coventry CV4 8JE, UK
www.ricsbooks.com
No responsibility for loss or damage caused to any person acting or refraining from action as
a result of the material included in this publication can be accepted by the authors or RICS.
Produced by the Facilities Management Group of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
ISBN 978 1 78321 031 2
©Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) October 2013. Copyright in all or part of this
publication rests with RICS. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by
any means including graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
taping or Web distribution, without the written permission of the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors or in line with the rules of an existing license.

RICS guidance note 1

 Strategic facilities management

Contents

Acknowledgments................................................................................. 1
Foreword................................................................................................... 5
RICS guidance notes........................................................................... 6
The arrangement of this publication.............................................. 7

Part 1 RICS guidance note

1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 8
1.1 The ‘client side’ facilities manager............................................... 9
1.2 The ‘supply side’ facilities manager............................................. 9
1.3 Strategic business focus............................................................... 9
1.4 Strategy, plan, delivery and review sequence............................. 9
1.5 The route-map............................................................................. 10

2 Strategy...............................................................................................11
2.1 Preparatory action – the existing portfolio.................................11
2.2 Corporate vision, mission and business plans...........................11
2.3 Space and services policies and plans.......................................11

3 Planning............................................................................................. 13
3.1 User needs evaluation................................................................. 13
3.2 Briefing for office accommodation............................................. 14
3.3 Plan testing................................................................................... 15
3.4 Communication............................................................................ 15
3.5 Accommodation and facilities plan content.............................. 15
3.6 Benefits of accommodation planning........................................ 15
3.7 Real estate options...................................................................... 15

4 The delivery of services............................................................... 18

4.1 Outlining a plan for delivery........................................................ 18
4.2 Sourcing services........................................................................ 19
4.3 Outsourcing procedures............................................................. 19
4.4 Managing in-house service provision........................................ 20
4.5 Contract management................................................................. 20
4.6 Legislative and regulatory framework........................................ 20

5 Review................................................................................................ 21
5.1 Measuring performance and review........................................... 21
5.2 Commonly used performance measures................................... 21
5.3 Scorecard approach to performance measurement................ 21

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5.4 Benchmarking.............................................................................. 23
5.5 Workplace productivity............................................................... 23
5.6 Process review............................................................................. 24
5.7 Conclusion................................................................................... 24

Part 2 Managing facilities

1 Operational management .......................................................... 25
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 25
1.2 Organisation................................................................................. 25
1.3 Managing delivery....................................................................... 25
1.4 Improving performance............................................................... 25
1.5 Customer care and service......................................................... 26
1.6 Procuring services....................................................................... 27
1.7 Service levels – Specifications and SLAs.................................. 27
1.8 Finance and facilities................................................................... 27
1.9 Health and safety......................................................................... 27
1.10 Business continuity planning...................................................... 29
1.11 Sustainable property................................................................... 31
1.12 Property management................................................................. 31
1.13 Specialist services....................................................................... 31
1.14 Conclusion................................................................................... 31

2 Maintenance management......................................................... 32
2.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 32
2.2 Types of maintenance................................................................. 32
2.3 Condition assessments............................................................... 32
2.4 Managing delivery....................................................................... 32
2.5 Risk assessments, safety and maintenance............................. 33
2.6 Building operating and maintenance manual............................ 33
2.7 Conclusion................................................................................... 33

3 Managing office workspace...................................................... 34

3.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 34
3.2 Space and service management................................................ 34
3.3 Design of the workspace............................................................. 35
3.4 Workspace remodelling to optimise performance.................... 36
3.5 Workplace effectiveness............................................................. 36
3.6 Workplace security...................................................................... 37
3.7 Power security............................................................................. 37
3.8 Conclusion................................................................................... 37

4 People and organisational capability..................................... 38

4.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 38

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 Strategic facilities management

4.2 Education and training................................................................ 38

4.3 Core competencies in facilities management training.............. 38
4.4 Reaching the right candidates.................................................... 40
4.5 Reaching the wider business community.................................. 40
4.6 Leadership.................................................................................... 40
4.7 Change management.................................................................. 40
4.8 Organisational culture, structure and capability....................... 40
4.9 Delivery profile matrix.................................................................. 41
4.10 Conclusion................................................................................... 42

5 Technology, information and data management............... 43

5.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 43
5.2 Operational reviews and reporting............................................. 43
5.3 Technology for facilities managers............................................. 43
5.4 Technology trends....................................................................... 43
5.5 Technology in the workplace...................................................... 44
5.6 BIM for facilities managers......................................................... 44
5.7 Glossary of technology terms..................................................... 44
5.8 Conclusion................................................................................... 46

Part 3 Appendices
Appendix 1 F
 acilities Management – origins, definitions,
competencies, standards..................................... 47
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 47
1.2 The origins of FM......................................................................... 47
1.3 Definitions of facilities management.......................................... 48
1.4 What facilities managers do and the essential competencies... 49
1.5 The development of standards for facilities management....... 51

Appendix 2 Abbreviations............................................................ 52
Appendix 3 Key terms.................................................................... 54
Appendix 4 Further reading......................................................... 59

4 RICS guidance note


Foreword
The majority of organisations operate from buildings, which
represent one of their largest corporate assets and after
staff, one of the largest cost liabilities. These assets and
liabilities need to be managed with the objectives of the
organisation in mind, so that accommodation and facilities
services strategies are aligned with business strategies
and plans. Many operational managers fail to realise the
advantages of this alignment and this can be an expensive
oversight, almost certainly resulting in increased costs,
with reduced productivity and a loss of competitive
advantage.
It is here that the facilities manager holds a key to improving
business performance. There is the potential to add value
by facilitating improved ‘well-being’ and productivity
from a satisfied and comfortable workforce, enhancing
customer experience and controlling costs through
efficient management, thereby improving the organisation’s
performance. But the facilities manager needs to be at the
business strategy table with the real estate manager, so
that accommodation and services provision are integrated
with organisation-wide delivery plans.
Much has been written about the relative importance
of the real estate and facilities management disciplines.
The fact is that they are of equal importance and their
influence and contribution is strengthened by a working
partnership which recognises the singular contribution
of each in the supply and management of appropriate
operational space.
rics.org
This guidance provides practitioners with strategic and
operational pointers to best practice in the planning
and management of facilities. It is not an encyclopaedic
reference to all aspects of facilities management; rather, it
highlights a route-map towards best practice, emphasising
those issues which the facilities team should be considering
in managing and servicing their portfolio of buildings.
The guidance will appeal to all, whether clients, consultants
or service providers. When the text refers to ‘business
operations’, this applies equally to all organisations from
retailers to health centres and hospitals to factories.
The principles in this document are globally applicable,
however, specific reference to practice, experience
and sources of information throughout the RICS World
Regions may be found at http://www.rics.org/uk/tag/
facilities-management
The management of facilities demands more than merely
maintaining and servicing buildings. It is a management
function providing support to corporate operations,
enabling the organisation to better achieve its stated
objectives. A strategically driven approach to facilities
management will provide maximum corporate benefit,
with outputs measured by quality of service and value
for money rather than on cost alone.
It is hoped that this guidance will provide inspiration
and enlightenment and will be judged worthwhile and
value-adding by facilities managers and those they serve.
Alan D White BSc FRICS
October 2013
RICS guidance note 5
 Strategic facilities management

RICS guidance notes

This is a guidance note. Where recommendations are
made for specific professional tasks, these are intended
to represent ‘best practice’; that is, recommendations
which in the opinion of RICS meet a high standard of
professional competence.
Although members are not required to follow the
recommendations contained in the note, they should
take into account the following points.
When an allegation of professional negligence is made
against a surveyor, a court or tribunal may take account
of the contents of any relevant guidance notes published
by RICS in deciding whether or not the member had acted
with reasonable competence.
In the opinion of RICS, a member conforming to the
practices recommended in this note should have at least
a partial defence to an allegation of negligence if they
have followed those practices. However, members have
the responsibility of deciding when it is inappropriate to
follow the guidance.
It is for each member to decide on the appropriate
procedure to follow in any professional task. However,
where members do not comply with the practice
recommended in this note, they should do so only for
a good reason. In the event of a legal dispute, a court or
tribunal may require them to explain why they decided not
to adopt the recommended practice. Also, if members
have not followed this guidance, and their actions are
questioned in an RICS disciplinary case, they will be asked
to explain the actions they did take and this may be taken
into account by the examining Panel.
In addition, guidance notes are relevant to professional
competence in that each member should be up to date
and should have knowledge of guidance notes within a
reasonable time of their coming into effect.
This guidance note is believed to reflect case law and
legislation applicable at its date of publication. It is the
member’s responsibility to establish if any changes in case
law or legislation after the publication date have an impact
on the guidance or information in this document.
Document status defined
RICS produces a range of professional guidance products.
These have been defined in the table below. This document
is a guidance note.

Type of document Definition Status

Standard

International Standard An international high level principle based standard Mandatory.

developed in collaboration with other relevant bodies

Practice Statement

RICS practice statement Document that provides members with mandatory Mandatory.
requirements under Rule 4 of the Rules of Conduct
for members

Guidance

RICS Code of Practice Document approved by RICS, and endorsed by another Mandatory or
professional body/ stakeholder that provides users recommended good
with recommendations for accepted good practice as practice (will be confirmed
followed by conscientious practitioners in the document itself)

RICS Guidance Note (GN) Document that provides users with recommendations Recommended good
for accepted good practice as followed by competent practice
and conscientious practitioners

RICS Information Paper (IP) Practice based information that provides users with the Information and/or
latest information and/or research explanatory commentary

6 RICS guidance note

 rics.org

The arrangement of this

publication
This publication is arranged in three parts:

Part 1 – Guidance note: focuses at high level on

the strategy, planning, delivery and review of facilities
management and support services to organisations.
This is not a detailed step by step exposition – it is a
route-map to the processes required to best support an
organisation and enhance overall business performance.

Part 2 – Managing facilities: looks in some detail

at the provision of facilities management functions and
reviews some of the principal tasks of the facilities
manager in the delivery of services to organisations.

Part 3 – Appendices: provides reference material,

including a brief history of the facilities management
discipline, with an exposé of abbreviations and key
terms used in the FM sector as well as a further reading
schedule about facilities management and related
subjects, including real estate management.

While Part 1 constitutes the guidance note,

practitioners should take note of the operational
elements of the facilities management function
described in Parts 2 and 3 of this publication,
which provide important strategic and operational
information on the delivery of supportive facilities
services. In particular, the requirement for compliance
with legislation and regulation in the conduct of
service delivery is an essential requirement for
all involved in facilities service delivery.

RICS guidance note 7

 Strategic facilities management

Part 1. RICS Guidance Note

1 Introduction There are many definitions of the term ‘facilities management’

Overview
This guidance provides a practitioner’s route-
map of the processes which should be followed
in aligning business and facilities strategies
and plans, together with managing service
delivery and performance.
and they are discussed in Part 3, Appendix 1. Organisations
vary about what is involved in the facilities role; some include
real estate asset management oversight and others minor
or, sometimes major projects, in addition to the traditional
core service delivery responsibilities. The definition used in
this guidance is:
The effective management of place and space,
integrating an organisation’s support infrastructure
to deliver services to staff and customers at best
value whilst enhancing organisational performance.

Figure 1: An example of the complex relationships of facilities managers in larger organisations

CEO – Chief Executive Officer

COO – Chief Operating Officer
CFO – Chief Financial Officer
CEO
CIO – Chief Information Officer
CHRO – Chief Human Resources Officer

CFO COO
COO Operational business units

Corporate support services CIO CHRO

Facilities
Real Estate Management ICT/HR/Procurement

Accommodation delivery Strategy Workplace strategy

ICT Support
Transactions RE projects Operations Operations services

RE supply Construction Supply IT supply Outsourced

chain supply chain chain support
chain services

8 RICS guidance note


This guidance is designed to appeal to all those involved
with the management of facilities and the provision of
support services, whether via in-house teams or through
specialist ‘supply side’ organisations.
1.1 The ‘client side’ facilities
manager
The client side or in-house facilities manager is a key
member of the central business support management
team with an internal network of contacts throughout the
organisation. A generic example of the inter-relationship of
the facilities, real estate, ICT, HR and procurement teams,
as well as the important links to the operational business
units and the chief operating officer (corporate support
service group COO) is shown in Figure 1. The imperative
of a support service team effort is seen particularly in
the supply and management of the workplace, including
support for flexible working strategies. The real estate
team in this example has a direct line to the chief finance
officer (CFO), highlighting the importance of the high asset
value buildings portfolio, but ideally the real estate and
facilities team should have a common reporting line to
ensure good strategic alignment between the two groups.
In this example, which might relate to a retail business, the
facilities team report through to the COO. Their primary
aim here should be to support the retail delivery strategy,
providing an appropriate environment for customers and
staff alike. Of great importance is the correct placement of
the facilities team in the corporate structure, enabling the
establishment and maintenance of communication links
to all parts of the business. This ensures that the team is
directly aware of the business strategies being followed and
the FM services required by each part of the organisation.
It is sometimes difficult to ‘educate’ operational managers
about the value of strategically aligned facilities services
in enhancing business performance. This is a time-
consuming task, greatly assisted by the correct positioning
of the facilities team within the organisational structure.
These issues have been investigated and are reported in
detail in the RICS research publication Raising the Bar,
Enhancing the Strategic Role of Facilities Management2.
1.2 The ‘supply side’ facilities
manager
The supply side facilities manager has a dual role of
delivering designated services to the client while also
managing the service company’s ‘bottom line’ to best
corporate advantage. Markedly different skills are required
for each role. The involvement with the client is dependent
upon the level of services which the client organisation is
buying and the degree of external management desired.
rics.org
Whatever the extent of the contract or service, a co-
operative approach between respective facilities managers
(client and supplier) will deliver the greatest advantage to
both parties. Such an approach recognises the business
interests of client and supplier and aligns strategies and
delivery plans for mutual benefit.
In whichever of these roles the facilities manager is
operating, skill in negotiation and in contract and change
management will be required to ensure reliable and quality
services are delivered at a competitive cost.
1.3 Strategic business focus
The success of the facilities management operation
depends on the delivery teams, both as client and
supplier, understanding the strategic focus of the
organisation and, in larger businesses, the varying
strategies of each business unit. The networking of the
in-house team through the organisation, capturing the
‘over the horizon’ vision of operational managers will
assist in producing an aligned and supportive operational
strategy by the facilities group. In these circumstances,
it may be that the facilities manager is the conduit who
relays the operational strategies to the real estate, ICT,
HR and other corporate service support groups. It is also
imperative that the client-side facilities manager passes on
the strategic and delivery information to the supply-side
manager so that there is a commonality of understanding
about the direction of the business and support levels
required to achieve business-wide objectives.
The communication networks should be used to gather
operational and strategic information to inform the
on-going accommodation and facilities management
strategies but also to ‘sell’ the facilities service as a key
constituent of the corporate support group.
1.4 The strategy, plan, delivery
and review sequence
The method of delivering facilities services should
be decided by an analysis of the business case and
the capabilities of the team, remembering that the
skills needed for managing outsourced services will
be different from those required to deliver in-house
services. Whichever delivery route is chosen, the service
performance should be measured and the metrics shared
with the occupiers and the management team. The
continual review of operational strategy, service suitability,
the delivery process and performance measures, will bring
the overall supply of facilities services nearer to optimum
performance, enhancing the value to the overall business
organisation. This sequence is illustrated in Figure 2.
RICS guidance note 9
 Strategic facilities management

Figure 2: The process for the supply of accommodation and services

Level 1

Corporate Strategy

Level 2
Business unit
strategies

Level 5 Level 3 Level 5

Performance Review Place and Space Performance Review
(Accommodation Planning (Business)
& services)

Level 4
Space & services delivered
& managed

Here the process of corporate strategy formulation is shown

at Level 1, cascading down to business unit strategies at
Level 2, where the real estate and facilities teams begin the
process of matching space and service requirements to
operational needs. This results in detailed space and service
planning at Level 3 and the delivery and management
of the ‘right space’ and services at Level 4. The review
process which follows (Level 5) is an integral step in refining
the overall space and services provision and improving its
effectiveness and efficiency.
The review sequence is a two stage process which
should involve the business operations managers and
accommodation teams separately, and then co-operatively,
analysing how the space and services are working from
a business perspective and as necessary, proposing and
implementing changes. Building this circularity of the review
process into the operational and accommodation sequence
will result in the provision of services that will steadily
enhance organisational performance.
1.5 The route-map
To maximise corporate value from the process, the role
of the facilities manager should involve the planning and
management of services and accommodation to provide
an optimum serviced environment for those who own,
lease, occupy, or visit the facility. Corporate space may
range from office, to retail, to hospital, educational or
manufacture, but whatever its use, the space needs to be
maintained and managed so that it remains operationally
effective, safe, and contributes to the organisation’s well-
being and brand image. The organisation’s service teams,
or their contractors, provide this support in whole or in
part, ideally overseen by an in-house facilities manager
or a manager acting as the informed client.
This route-map shows the sequence from strategy
formation to review and involves a number of important
stages, represented in Figure 3. References give the
paragraph numbers of the various stages of the process.

Figure 3: The route-map

Strategy Planning Plans/Options Delivery Review

See Paras: See Paras: See Paras: See Paras: See Paras:
2 to 2.4 3 to 3.4 3.5 to 3.7 4 to 4.5 5 to 5.6

10 RICS guidance note


2 Strategy
The start point for the development of a facilities strategy
is an understanding of the business strategies flowing
from the organisation’s vision and mission statements.
These will translate to business unit operational strategies
in which buildings will be just one of the many corporate
resources needed to deliver products and services
to customers. The operational strategies will include
statements about the overall approach to providing
buildings and services, making it clear, in general terms,
the type and quality of space and servicing required to
meet corporate and operational objectives.
The resulting space and services strategy will be a
statement of the purpose and performance levels expected
from the portfolio. It will set out the type, location, cost,
value and quality of the buildings portfolio and the ‘brand
image’ this will promote in support of the corporate vision
and mission. It will ‘set the standard’ for the quality of
facilities services which the business expects and will
enable the facilities team to assess the resources, structure
and budget which the supply of these services will require.
The ‘cascade’ from high level, business focused strategy
to accommodation and services strategy should be
embedded in the business and financial planning
processes of the organisation. The overarching policies and
strategies will be reviewed, along with the accommodation
strategy, each year (or more often as required) and adjusted
as part of the regular business and financial planning cycle.
2.1 Preparatory action
– the existing portfolio
Accurate data is the key to effective decision-making.
Facilities managers must have a full understanding of
the state of the present portfolio of real estate assets,
the suitability for purpose, tenure, condition, cost
of restoration to full repair, operating costs, market
value, flexibility of use, utilisation levels, environmental
performance, user and customer satisfaction, and
remaining life. A factual view of the accommodation stock
is needed, with an assessment of the expected contribution
to service delivery and an estimate of the efficiency and
effectiveness of each facility. This exercise should take into
account both the real estate and facilities perspective so that
a cost in use, asset value and business ‘value’ matrix can be
produced for each location.
The importance of data accuracy cannot be over-
emphasised – good corporate decision-making is reliant
on quality data. However, the increasing volume and
detail of information captured by organisations and the
rise of multimedia and social media is fuelling exponential
growth in available data and creating ‘data overload’
issues for many businesses. The ‘Big Data’ problem and
its management is beyond the scope of this guidance
but it emphasises the need to concentrate resources on
collecting the key property/facilities data required to create
a viable space and services plan for the business.
rics.org
2.2 Corporate vision, mission
and business plans
The real estate and facilities services strategy is a
business planning and communication document
providing operational, financial and quality ‘readings’ for
the organisation. It is developed from the key strands of
corporate policy and objectives which ‘cascade’ from the
corporate vision (see Figure 4) and the mission statement
providing detail about the purpose and aims of the
organisation. With the latter in mind, corporate frameworks
and policies are developed setting out the context within
which the organisation is to operate, defining the scope,
direction and the way it will allocate resources to achieve
its stated objectives.
It is at this level where the outline of the space and services
strategies will be set down so that delivery strategies can
be supported by and matched to practical resourcing,
whether this relates to real estate, to financial, IT or to
people resources. To be optimally effective, real estate
and facilities managers should be involved in this decision-
making matrix to advise firstly on the appropriate space
to ‘fit’ delivery requirements and, secondly about the
‘match’ of the present portfolio of space to the business
aspirations. The objective should be to provide the right
facility in the right location at the right cost and of the
right quality.
2.3 Space and services policies
and plans
The space strategy is a high level statement of the overall
approach to providing accommodation to meet the
organisation’s needs. As the business plans become more
granular, the space and facilities policies will be developed
and designed to ensure that similar standards are reflected
across the organisation. The policies should set down the
‘rules of behaviour’ for the organisation as far as real estate
and services decision-making are concerned.
Figure 5 shows a representation of the process from
the formation of the business stream strategies (Level 1)
through the discussion of place and space strategies
(Level 2) when the detailed input of real estate and facilities
managers will be considered, based on their knowledge
of the existing portfolio of space, its value and operating
costs, and the market for new accommodation if demanded
by the business strategies. The process will produce an
optimum allocation of space for the business (Level 2) and
in due course, the delivery and management of the space
(Level 3) with a performance review sequence (Level 4)
after operational experience. The real estate, services and
operational plans will be reviewed regularly over time as
the 1 – 4 sequence is regularly revisited.
RICS guidance note 11
 Strategic facilities management

Figure 4: The corporate strategy cascade

Does our accommodation

match this aspiration? Aspirational goals
Corporate
vision

Can our accommodation Mission Purpose and aims

match these aims? statement

Accommodation policies will Corporate policy Scope, direction and

support corporate direction & objectives resourcing requirements

Accommodation policy and Operational goals

Management is set for Service department
delivery strategies and targets
each line of business

Accommodation plans
set for each line
of business

Delivery to customers

Figure 5: The strategic and operational linkage and performance review process

Corporate Real Estate

Business unit strategies
strategic input LEVEL 1

Does our accommodation

match this aspiration? Aspirational goals
Place and Space Corporate
strategies
Facilities Management
vision strategic input LEVEL 2

Can our accommodation Mission Purpose and aims

match these aims? statement

Optimum operational space

Accommodation policies will
allocated
Corporate policy Scope, direction and
LEVEL 3
support corporate direction & objectives resourcing requirements

Accommodation policy and Operational goals

Management is set for Service department
Space delivered
delivery strategies and targets
Performance reviews Performance reviews
each line of business and managed LEVEL 4

Accommodation plans
set for each line
of business

Delivery to customers

12 RICS guidance note


The benefits of establishing a space and facilities
services policy include:
• the efficient allocation and management of space
across the organisation
• optimum locations for service delivery
• increasingly sustainable delivery strategies; and
• the lowering of operating costs and efficient use
of capital
With the benefit of this ‘overarching’ policy developed
in conjunction with operational managers and a full
understanding of the latter’s delivery strategies, work
to develop the organisation’s space and facilities
services plan will proceed.
3 Planning
The planning process becomes more detailed as
managers begin considering the suitability of existing
accommodation and the changes that may be required
to bring the portfolio up to the standard desired by the
organisation. This is shown in Figure 6. In this example
of a local council plan, only four potential outcomes
are considered at Level 1 – in fact there may be many
more or perhaps just one option, dependent on the
size of the organisation and the existing status of the
accommodation portfolio.
As a result of discussion about the operational, financial
and physical aspects of the accommodation, an agreed
Figure 6: The formulation of accommodation plans
Options Disposal Refurbish
review – & recycle and retain
financial capital
receipts
Agreed strategy for each location
Consolidated accommodation plan
Plans
from other
Organisation-wide accommodation plan
departments
rics.org
plan will be worked out at Level 2. This process should be
carried out across the service/operational departments
to provide a consolidated plan at Level 3 and across
the organisation to produce the organisation-wide
accommodation and services plan at Level 4. In larger
organisations, these plans may need to be drawn up
on a phased basis because they require a considerable
amount of resource. For smaller organisations, there may
only be a single plan although limited resources may delay
completion. The facilities team should simultaneously
consider the cost of servicing the space and the on-going
maintenance and life cycle issues of fit-out and M&E plant.
3.1 User needs evaluation
It is important for the planning teams to understand how
occupiers use accommodation and an assessment of
user needs will be required, at least for the larger buildings
in the portfolio.
‘Generic’ designs may meet some of the space planning,
fit-out, furnishing and services requirements of a particular
building user but the missed step in the process is often
a more detailed user evaluation and a brief setting out of
the exact needs of the occupier, both at corporate and
at staff level. The absence of this evaluation may result in
dissatisfied staff, perhaps less than optimum productivity,
wasted resources and potential damage to the brand
image of the business.
Retain for Redevelop & Options
community share with review –
use partners operations
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
Plans
from other
departments LEVEL 4
RICS guidance note 13
 Strategic facilities management
The discussion here relates to the planning and use of
office buildings but the same principles apply to retail
and industrial accommodation. Retailers plan store
layouts to the last detail based upon complex shopper
and marketing feedback on the design of their existing
operating units. This is a very sophisticated planning
process – getting a detail wrong might well have a
significant effect on the bottom line financial performance
of a store. Similarly, the planning of a manufacturing
operation will require briefings from a wide variety of
professionals and their involvement in the planning and
placement of equipment throughout the building. In both
cases, the facilities management team should be part of
this planning process to ensure what is proposed can
be maintained, serviced and cleaned in an efficient and
effective manner and complies with health and safety
and other relevant legislation.
3.2 Briefing for office
accommodation3
The facilities team, or consultants reporting to them,
should be the ‘mailbox’ for information from all parts of
the occupying organisation about what is required from
buildings. This will enable a prioritised and informed
brief to be created to form a basis for decision-making
about which buildings to acquire and which should be
discarded. The facilities team should aim to produce
considered feedback on the topics shown in Table
1, under such headings as Business, Building, Staff,
Workplace, and Workstyle. In reality, much more
information may be sought at this key stage.
This briefing information provides key input data to the
design team to ensure, as far as possible from a physical
and financial perspective, that user requirements are
built into the final scheme. The facilities team should
continue to be involved in the process as the scheme
moves forward through development and/or fit-out,
so that any essential changes which become necessary
can be designed into the building.
This example is based on a new development but the
same principles apply when an existing building is
being assessed. The facilities manager should have the
occupying organisation’s requirement schedule and
oversight of the actual costs of running the building and
should preferably be given access to the records of
previous occupiers in relation to maintenance issues and
costs, utility costs and service charges. The building will
be rated from an energy efficiency perspective so that
its compliance with the occupier’s sustainability policies
can be assessed. This information matrix will provide
an invaluable insight into how well the organisation will
‘fit’ into the building and the likely costs of occupation.
It should also be possible to accurately assess the quality
of the workplace environment and how efficiently the
building’s infrastructure operates.
14 RICS guidance note
Table 1: Office accommodation briefing
Business
Corporate culture – image, operation, style, quality,
sustainability. Will the design and use be a branding
opportunity and if so what image is to be portrayed?
The balance must be right – not too ostentatious, but
not too ‘ordinary’. There is an opportunity to ‘score points’
on the competition through the office image and style.
Building
Quality and style, environmental standards, flexibility
in use, condition and maintainability. How many people
can be accommodated? What are the timescales and
numbers of people in the business over the strategy
period? How will the building be serviced, security
maintained, and services provided, and are there design
problems which need resolution? Are there security issues
locally which affect design and access arrangements?
Does the building comply with all present legislation?
What is the BREEAM rating and what can be done (at what
cost) to improve its ‘efficiency in use’.
Workspace
Numbers to be accommodated and type/quality/space/
environmental requirements. Circulation space, furniture
and equipment, IT services, space standards, flexibility
of space and use, meeting room and quiet room space.
Communal and networking spaces at group, departmental
or corporate level. What work group adjacencies are
required? Catering and welfare services – will child-care
be required/provided?
Workstyle
Flexibility of work delivery, desk sharing/hot desking
schemes, breakout space, video conferencing, ‘bring your
own device’, paperless office, VOIP technologies, anytime,
anyplace policies.
Staff
Do I want to work here – what is needed to get me to work
here? Space, furniture, welfare facilities and standards,
catering, location, parking, public transport, local
shopping and other amenities. Is this location safe?
Can I afford to work here – expense of travel, parking,
shopping, etc.?

3.3 Plan testing
Planning information and detailed user requirements should
enable a draft plan to be prepared which will be appraised
financially as it develops. This should be a broad and
generic process which will also assess the effects on other
corporate resources, principally staffing and technology.
The plan’s estimated investment needs will be checked
in the context of the organisation’s overall requirement for
project capital.
Real estate and facilities managers are advised to
‘challenge’ operational colleagues about their need for
accommodation, the type, quality and amount of space, as
well as its location and cost. The procurement options for
the plan will be developed and tested financially and with
operational managers, to assess viability and affordability.
The testing of the effect on staffing levels and on systems
is a vital step in developing the plan. HR and IT specialists
are key players in the final delivery and performance of the
space and servicing plan. With all resources and costs
factored in, the whole plan can be ‘tested’ and adjustments
made as required.
The planning process is an iterative one. Plan reappraisal
is a process that organisations are recommended to go
through periodically and the result will improve each time the
process is run as better data is used and more operational
experience is gained. The testing and subsequent iterations
will require progressively more accurate and complete data,
particularly to support investment/divestment actions on
specific real estate assets.
3.4 Communication
While the planning work proceeds, communication links to
the rest of the organisation should be maintained so that
there is visibility of the process. This applies through all levels
of the organisation although the messages will be of different
detail at the various levels.
At senior management level, the process may well take
on a facilitation role to ensure all are ‘pointing in the same
direction’ and are fully supportive. The benefits of time
spent here include ensuring that real estate and facilities
management operations are established in the minds of
managers and kept on the corporate agenda, clarifying
business drivers and corporate policy and persuading the
senior team to become facilitators in promoting the space
and services plan throughout the organisation.
3.5 The accommodation and
facilities services plan
What does the accommodation plan contain? This will vary
widely and from business to business but there are a number
of templates in use and a typical plan will include some or all
of the topics outlined in Table 2.
rics.org
Real estate and facilities managers should remember
that while the detail of their plans will be of interest to
operational managers, senior board members will have
time to read only summary sections relating to such topics
as meeting delivery objectives and targets, the financial
implications and the efficiency and effectiveness of
service delivery. The layout of the plan document should,
therefore, be carefully planned, so that it is clear to the
wide range of readers which parts are particularly relevant
to them, including summaries, as necessary, to provide an
‘easy read’ for other sections.
3.6 Benefits of accommodation
planning
The planning process should result in an alignment
of accommodation to support the organisation-wide
objectives set out in the corporate strategy. The key
point is that the plan lays the foundation for efficient and
effective use of resources and provides a platform for
structured and rigorous forward thinking and decision-
making about both operational, space and servicing
strategies. It also allows the organisation to be ready for
change, perhaps as a result of acquisition, a change in
strategic direction or ‘shocks’ caused by a downturn in
business or competitor activity.
The plan should enable management to be clear
about the extent, value, condition and suitability of the
accommodation across the organisation and understand
the quality of services to be provided by the facilities
team. This will form the basis for the accommodation
development and management programme and a clear
baseline for measuring delivery performance.
3.7 Real estate options
The design of workspace is a key consideration for
occupying businesses but of equal importance is whether
buildings are owned or leased. A detailed analysis of real
estate options is beyond the scope of this guidance, but it
is important for the facilities manager, with the real estate
team if one exists, to balance the options of owning and
the additional business planning perspectives which need
to be considered if a leasehold route is followed.
The leasehold option brings a series of differing timescale
cycles which must be considered at the outset. The cycle
of the lease expiring in a certain number of years, along
with the maintenance cycle of the building and the fit-out
life cycle, all need to be considered as part of this option.
It is also important to consider the less obvious costs of
leasehold occupation over and above the actual rents
payable. There will be service charges in a multi-occupied
building – what opportunity is there to control the quality,
quantity and costs of these services and is there a
possibility of being ‘hit’ by a contribution to an expensive
common part repair or replacement such as a new lift or
roof? There will be dilapidations liabilities at lease end and
potentially, restrictions on alterations.
RICS guidance note 15
 Strategic facilities management

Furthermore, business expansion or contraction might
mean that the accommodation will, at some time in the
future, no longer be suitable, with the consequential
difficulty and expense of surplus space until the lease end,
unless the lease can be ended through surrender to the
landlord or the outgoings limited by subletting. Great care
needs to be taken when operating break options if these
exist in the lease.
The planning stage should also take account of the
property market – is this a good time to buy or lease? It may
be possible to buy or lease cheaply in a market downturn
but paying premium prices in a buoyant market may be
unavoidable. The exit route should be considered before
the accommodation is acquired. Will this space be saleable
if no longer required? The implication of accounting
changes on the treatment of leases in corporate accounts
also needs to be considered.
It is imperative that the organisation plans appropriately
for the various accommodation and real estate related
events along with the likely business requirements. A mis-
alignment of real estate and business cycles may prove to
be very expensive in the future.
A possible occupational solution is to utilise serviced office
accommodation for short to medium term office space
requirements. This ‘off the shelf’ solution gives ultimate
flexibility of space and time, which is ideal for fast expanding
businesses. It requires a minimal amount of set-up cost and
can be organised within days.

Table 2: A generic plan for accommodation and services planning and delivery

Plan topics What is included

Purpose and benefits of the
accommodation and services
strategy and plan
• The purpose of the accommodation and services strategy and plan and the
benefits to the organisation.
• How the strategy has been developed, the alignment with business strategies.
• The plan timescale. There may be more than one end date where a number of
change programmes are running simultaneously.

The organisation’s corporate • A statement of the organisation’s goals and objectives and the implication for
vision, mission and strategy accommodation.

The financial context • The overall corporate financial position.

• The financial outlook and the implications for accommodation and services
decision-making.
• An estimate of the budget for accommodation change and ultimate operating and
servicing costs.

Accommodation and services
– A statement of goals and
objectives
• Setting out at corporate level the policy, goals and objectives that will improve
delivery.
• The corporate approach to the use of accommodation and the quality of facilities
services.
• The vision of what accommodation will ‘look like’ through the programme and at
the end of the plan period. A statement of the quality of space and the standard
of services to be expected.
• The sustainability elements of the plan and the changes made to increase the
‘sustainable focus’.

The accommodation and
services plan for each
business unit
• A business unit analysis of the effect of the plan on the accommodation portfolio.
The effect on key locations will be highlighted. This charts the change process to
align with business requirements. In separate appendices, a location by location
breakdown will show the detail of each asset and any proposed changes, as well
as the type of services planned and the estimated capital and operating costs.

Asset upgrade analysis • At high level, the key changes required to deliver the plan and the facility service
changes proposed.
• An estimate of the likely total costs of the plan’s proposed capital requirement.

16 RICS guidance note


Plan topics
Definition of service levels to
be expected
Critical success factors
Resource implications of
the plan
Performance measurement
Organisational structure
Action milestones
Review
Risk
Assumptions and provisos
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What is included
• The quality, capacity, reliability, services and responsiveness of the accommodation
is confirmed and priced. This will be a balance between affordability, practicality
and service quality; the level is defined and becomes the baseline for performance
measurement.
• Operating models and resultant changes in inputs and outputs.
• Business based outcomes and timescales are noted.
• This will form the basis for performance management.
• The effect on accommodation and services as well as finance, IT and HR will be
noted and this provides further input to the capital and operating plans.
• Revenue budget implications will be outlined.
• The broad investment and divestment plan will be outlined and capital spend and
returns will be estimated.
• The overall approach to sourcing, outsourcing and procurement will be set out as
a strategy to be investigated.
• The agreed performance measures to be used relating to the critical success
factors and those of all business units across the organisation.
• The performance measurement system.
• Current performance as a base measure and the anticipated performance review
steps as the plan proceeds.
• The senior corporate manager responsible for space and services is identified
along with the real estate and facilities structure, roles and responsibilities.
• Process for overall space and services structure reviews.
• Governance and decision taking.
• Data management.
• Resourcing allocations and capacity management.
• Actions which will be taken over the next 12 months and a timetable agreed for
organisational, accommodation and delivery service changes.
• The success of the accommodation and services plan is measured by the
reaction of customers to service delivery and the effect on operating costs.
Reviews against pre-agreed performance metrics will take place regularly and
recommendations made about changes to enhance delivery to customers,
as well as improvements in facilities services.
• An assessment of the risks associated with the accommodation and services plan.
• A risk assessment of other resource inputs including financial/budgetary
cutbacks and shortage of real estate and/or facilities management expertise,
along with the management of all shortfalls.
• Business continuity plans.
• The plan will state the base assumptions and any provisos about data integrity,
cost estimates, demand forecasts, real estate and services lifespan, and other
variables.
RICS guidance note 17
 Strategic facilities management

4 The delivery of services4 Sourcing options needs to be objectively considered, in

Having agreed the precise space and service level
requirements, the organisation should consider whether
the required facilities management services are likely to
be most efficiently provided by in-house resources or
through any ‘mix’ of in-house and out-of-house provision
up to a total outsourcing solution.
An objective assessment of the capabilities of the in-
house team should be carried out as well as a financial
analysis of the direct and indirect costs of the various
delivery options, so that a decision can be taken on the
best value option for the organisation. Reviews of the
chosen process for delivering services should be made
at regular intervals by market testing.
4.1 Outlining a plan for delivery
Figure 7 shows the essential three major steps from the
accommodation and services plan through sourcing and
procurement to delivery.
particular, whether the in-house team could provide some
or all of the services required by the business (point 1 on
Figure 7). At point 2, consideration should be given both to
the accommodation sourcing and how services could be
provided. At point 3, following financial and risk assessments
of the available options, a decision will be made which should
be ‘tested’ with the in-house customers, resulting in an
agreed sourcing plan, shown at point 4.
This plan should become the basis for the procurement
sequence (point 5), with three or more sourcing options again
being checked out, resulting in a tender for services being
prepared at point 6. There may be alternative tender options
if it is decided to market-test more than one option. The
procurement process will result in tenders being received and
these should be financially tested for commercial affordability
and suitability to the business in terms of content, quality and
risk. A decision will be made at point 7 and again customers
should be consulted before the delivery route is finally agreed.
At point 8, negotiations will take place with the preferred
service supplier to set performance metrics, the standard
of customer care and other service and quality details.
Thereafter, the preferred supplier is appointed with an agreed
start date for delivery. On-going regular performance reviews
should take place as well as market testing, dependent upon
the length of the delivery contract.

Figure 7: Accommodation and facilities services delivery process

Own
Delivery Sourcing plan 2
route Accommodation Lease

1 3
Serviced office
Accommodation Financial & Risk Agree with
Assess potential Assess in-house
plans Assessment. customers
sourcing options resourcing
Make decision
In-house

Facilities
Review Benefits Mixed
services
& market tests
regularly
TFM/Outsource

Appoint
successful 8
service teams Agreed
4 sourcing
plan
Customer
servicing & Help
desk agreed
In-house
Delivery procurement Facilities team
Set performance
measures Assess
Run full Tender Mixed,
Assess risks. business case Procurement
procurement service sub-contractors
Make decisions for each of service
process contract & in-house team
option
5
7 6
Agreed Agree with Total
delivery customers Outsource
route

18 RICS guidance note

 rics.org

4.2 Sourcing services5 4.3 Outsourcing procedures

The sourcing of facilities services delivery depends on
a large number of circumstances. It may be based on
the capabilities of the in-house team, uniqueness of
the services required, a particular or unusual speed of
response requirement, on the question of overall control
or on the direct and indirect cost of service supply.
A number of possible options are shown in Table 3.
The decision about which sourcing option is best for the
organisation will be based on an objective assessment of
service requirements, in-house expertise, specialist needs
and cost. The decision should not be made on just one
objective, for example, it is cheaper to outsource. This is
a significant strategic decision for the organisation and
it should be made only after careful consideration of all
relevant criteria. Once made, the sourcing decision should
stand for the contract period of say three or five years. It
might be reviewed at these time intervals if the contract
period is longer.
It is important that the delivery performance (as opposed to
the sourcing decision) of the supplier providing the services
is reviewed regularly, on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis,
dependent upon the ability to do so efficiently, and the
performance should be benchmarked. All organisations will
have a different view of their requirements so it is for each
to determine what works best for their operations in terms
of value and efficiency and this may take some practical
‘experimentation’ over a number of years. This is the
advantage of an experienced in-house facilities manager
who will be in a good position to advise on the most
appropriate option without the need for potentially
time-wasting and costly trials.
It is important for business managers to understand that
the timetable for outsourcing will be prolonged, particularly
for a total FM outsource.
The process may be divided into three main parts:
1. Assessing the scope of the outsource – the numbers
of properties (an accurate asset register is an
absolute imperative), the services to be provided, the
present delivery arrangements and, if relevant, their
merging with the outsource vehicle; the arrangement
for oversight by the internal contract manager and if
staff are to be transferred, the TUPE6 (staff transfer)
arrangements. Careful consideration should be given
to who the ultimate customers are and who within
the client business will be giving instructions. Care
is recommended to ensure all relevant procurement
legislation and regulations are being followed, for
example, OJEC7.
2. The tender documents will detail the specification of
services and the timetable and frequency of service,
the quality of service expected, service levels,
reporting and performance metrics, the handling
of customers, the provision of a help desk and the
contract conditions.
3. The tender process – the timetable, briefing, interim
stages, assessment formulae and scoring; award of
contract and mobilisation expectations.
These processes should be followed meticulously in order
to ensure that required services are not missed and that
the prospective suppliers of services are fully aware of what
is expected of them and are capable of delivering to the
required performance levels.

Table 3: Sourcing options

In-house The present facilities team, possibly augmented if necessary by agency or full-time
staff, run the delivery of accommodation and facilities services.

In-house with sub-contracting The in-house facilities team, with limited resources, will run some services but will
specialists contract with external service providers to cover any skill or resourcing gaps.

Establishing a business unit The present facilities team are re-constituted as a separate, free standing services
organisation, providing services to their organisation and with the objective of
gaining contracts from other clients.

Managing agent In the absence of a sufficiently experienced or qualified facilities team/manager,

the appointment of a specialist FM professional to act as the facilities advisor and
informed client. This specialist will appoint and manage external suppliers.

Contractor/ manager The appointment of an organisation to manage all services providers. The
appointee is paid a management fee. In some circumstances the appointee
is responsible for managing the facilities budget and the payment of all
subcontractors.

Total FM Total facilities management contracts with a single supplier, taking responsibility to
provide all required services.

RICS guidance note 19

 Strategic facilities management
4.4 Managing in-house service
provision
The decision to retain in-house facilities management
services should firstly depend on the skill level and
experience of the relevant teams and secondly, on an
analysis of an objective business case for doing so. Again,
it should be remembered that every organisation has
a different view about how facilities services should be
delivered and what services should be provided.
The procedure for establishing the in-house service provision
should be no different to the outsource process in terms
of setting the services to be provided, the timing, quality,
performance measures and so on. The internal customers
should expect to receive a service which compares with an
external provider but should not receive additional or special
treatment just because this is an in-house service. A price/
cost for the services will be agreed and the in-house team
will be expected to manage within that budget. However,
this should be a budget established and set for a contract
period, as would be the case with an external provider.
The set-up should mirror the contract arrangement for an
external provider so that performance can be monitored
on a like-for-like basis.
The in-house team will be familiar with and understand the
organisation’s operational strategies and different business
unit operating imperatives however an external supplier
might bring innovation and efficiencies that are beyond the
scope of the existing team. They will also be more familiar
with procedures for help desk, customer relationship
management and the handling of change requests.
In-house staff should be provided with a training budget
to allow, for example, for training in account management,
help desk and work-scheduling. As will be the case with
an outsourced service, the in-house team will be subject
to performance measurement and operational
improvement targets.
The choice of in-house provision versus outsourcing
depends, firstly, on the level of in-house expertise available,
but secondly, on the existence of external service providers.
In some countries there are no reliable specialist external
service providers and organisations have no alternative
to in-house provision. In such situations, it remains
important to set the definitions of service, performance
expectations and budgets so that the facilities team know
what their operational targets are and the customer knows
what to expect. Whatever the circumstances, in-house
service provision will continue only if it achieves customer
satisfaction and best business value to the organisation.
A recent i-FM survey8 provides some insight about services
provision and reports a larger than expected proportion
of respondents (26%) providing all FM services in-house.
Just under a quarter (22%) were using individual external
suppliers for each service, and 26% were using a bundled or
integrated services approach, with two or more service lines
delivered by a single supplier. Six per cent of respondents
said they had a TFM solution in place, with 4% reporting
a single solution for FM and property services.
20 RICS guidance note
4.5 Contract management
Irrespective of how the services are to be delivered, a
process will be required to manage the service contract.
This should be the responsibility of the in-house facilities
manager, acting in the role of informed client, or, in the
absence of a qualified professional, another manager will be
required to fill the informed client function role. The latter may
be the preferred option where services are supplied through
an in-house team, in order to ensure objectivity.
It is good practice to establish a review board consisting of
all corporate central services support managers, operational
and services supply managers and internal customer and
accommodation occupier representatives. All should be
aware of the original objectives set when establishing the
contract and the review board should objectively consider the
performance measures on a regular basis, recommending
changes as necessary from the client and supplier side.
In any event, the process of management will accord with
the procedure laid down in the supply contract with the
reviews, change control procedures, contract administration,
cost and performance monitoring and payment, all as
originally set down, or as the contract may have been varied
subsequently by mutual agreement. Performance monitoring
is a key feature, particularly where a performance related
payment system is included in the contract. In this case,
the pre-agreed KPIs will be monitored and any additional
payments made to the supplier if performance targets are
exceeded. However, due consideration should be given to
any service failures, particularly where maintaining service
continuity is a key contract condition and metric.
An overall concept review should be carried out occasionally
to check that the original decision on facilities delivery is
still valid and in line with the current accommodation and
facilities strategy. Further reviews will look at actual costs
compared to market, performance measures and possible
changes to increase efficiencies in delivery and consequent
alterations to service level agreements (SLAs).
Each contract for the supply of services is tailored to the
client so no single approach to delivery, administration or
review is possible. One principle is worthy of note, however,
in relation to KPIs – only measure what is meaningful, useful
and will add value to the business.
4.6 Legislative and regulatory
framework
Facilities managers should be particularly aware of the
legislation and regulatory regime which governs the
operation of real estate and the employment of staff in each
of their operational regions and remember that this will
vary in every country. In particular, the health and safety of
staff, visitors and customers is of paramount importance
but awareness of and compliance with construction,
employment, equality, waste disposal, anti-bribery and
money laundering legislation and regulation are all essential.

5 Review
5.1 Measuring performance
and review
The processes for the delivery of accommodation and
services should be reviewed at regular intervals so that
changes to improve efficiency and effectiveness can be
introduced. Figure 2 (section 1.4) shows the performance
reviews (at Level 5), which should take place to assess
how well the business is being supported by the
accommodation and services provided.
Business and facilities managers should discuss if the
present portfolio of accommodation and services is
adequate and what changes might be made to improve
performance. These regular reviews will result in the
refinement of the space and services delivery to better
support occupiers and customers.
5.2 Commonly used performance
measures
RICS research9 in 2012 looked into what measures
organisations use to evaluate the performance of the
facilities management team and also, what metrics teams
use to track their own performance.
For office portfolios, the returns reveal that senior
managers’ attention is solely upon financial performance
against budget, with little apparent attention being paid to
the effect on the working environment, or on the efficiency
or productivity of the workforce. So, the most common
measure being used is the cost budget.
Other cost related metrics in common use are cost per
sq.ft/metre of space, real estate cost and space occupied
per employee, cost per workstation and a growing use of
environment-related measures such as carbon tonne per
employee. These measures generally concentrate on the
cost/efficiency of the facilities rather than the effectiveness
of the accommodation and services.
The second most popular performance measure looks at
service levels achieved. This is a ‘softer’ measure which
tracks response times, maintenance issues resolved,
workplace environment and the like. Employee satisfaction
is the third most popular; presumably sourced from
occupying customers.
The research underlines the fact that facilities management
continues to be regarded by too many managers as a
cost centre and there is insufficient understanding of the
effect on the overall business of relentlessly cutting FM
budgets. While it is difficult to conclusively prove that the
quality of facilities services affects occupier performance
in the workplace, there is a growing body of research
rics.org
evidence showing that poor lighting, poor cleaning, bad
environmental conditions, poor heating, inefficient IT and
poor quality furniture, particularly seating, has a negative
effect on productivity.
It is interesting to compare this cost obsessive approach
with the retail industry where in shopping centres and
stores, large and small, customers and staff are ‘treated’
to a pleasantly maintained, well-lit, air-conditioned
environment, conducive to browsing and buying and to
providing a good service. Retailers are notoriously cost
conscious but clearly understand the advantage of a
facilities services spend which produces a customer
friendly environment and is positively reflected in their
trading performance.
5.3 Scorecard approach to
performance measurement
The performance reviews discussed concentrate on
cost, space and utilisation metrics. However, the user
satisfaction measures begin to ‘stray’ into the area of the
effect which accommodation and services do have on
organisational performance. Here a ‘balanced scorecard’
approach, as set out by Moulin in 2002, is helpful. In Figure
8, a form of scorecard structure is shown, which places
performance under four broad headings against longer
term strategic objectives at the centre.
The performance ‘beacons’ surrounding the strategic
centre emphasise the mostly qualitative nature of the
inputs and outputs, looking at measures such as customer
experience, staff satisfaction, collaborative learning
efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
A generic scorecard is developed from this outline
structure and this is shown in Table 4. The measurement
should follow the strategic objectives of the organisation
and concentrate on a limited number of metrics which
are identified as key drivers towards improved delivery
to external customers. The influence of a quality
accommodation portfolio and facilities management
services on work delivery and service to external
customers can be assessed through a well-constructed
scorecard. The scorecard provides a methodology for
looking at the inter-relation between space, servicing and
staff performance, and different formats can be designed
to monitor, for example, the reaction of staff to changes of
process, workstyle or workplace technologies.
Having received the review results, facilities and operations
managers should discuss what changes, if any, are
required to space and services to develop improvements
which will benefit all concerned.
RICS guidance note 21
 Strategic facilities management

Figure 8: The outline concept of a balanced scorecard

CUSTOMER & STAKEHOLDER

Customer and stakeholder experience.
Stakeholder contribution

FINANCIAL OPERATIONAL
Economy of EXCELLENCE
operation. STRATEGIC Efficiency and
Value for Results against key effectiveness
money delivery performance outcomes of operations.
Staff satisfaction

INNOVATION & LEARNING

Continuous improvement and
collaborative learning

Source: Moullin 2002

Table 4: Generic scorecard

Objectives Operational measurement areas Measurement methodology

for accommodation and services
Strategic

Achieving/assisting in Improving quality of services and Metrics associated with space efficiency
achieving the organisation’s accommodation; increasing efficiency of and satisfaction with accommodation
objectives space usage and services

Customer and Stakeholder

Satisfied customers, staff and Talking to customers/staff at all levels Survey of customers; stakeholder
satisfied stakeholders about the accommodation and services surveys; stakeholder interviews
‘experience’

Operational Excellence

Effective and efficient Better space promotes improved ‘quality Satisfaction with accommodation;
operations of life’ and increased productivity; flexible location of building; space quality;
working; efficiency in space usage servicing standards; occupational levels;
availability of flexible working ‘tools’

Financial

Value for money; budget Financial metrics Operating costs; capital budget
adherence

Innovation and Learning

Best practice captured and Performance compared to other Benchmarking performance and
new ideas continually trialled organisations; research about new ways of learning groups; measurement of
working/delivery of services performance in research trials

22 RICS guidance note


5.4 Benchmarking
The results of the various reviews described will produce
information which should be compared to past performance
within the organisation and enable comparisons with similar
operations elsewhere. This comparative benchmarking
will give a valuable insight into performance trends and
potentially a view of how operations might be re-engineered
to further improve services.
Internal performance measurement gives a ‘trend line of
performance’, hopefully improving over time. It will show
where operational lapses in services have occurred and
enable remedial action to be taken. External benchmarking
offers the prospect of using the experiences of other
organisations to leverage performance ‘at home’. Again,
this will highlight lapses of performance compared to other
organisations but care is needed to ensure that the metrics
being analysed are entirely comparable.
A limited number of benchmarking groups have been
created over the years. The Investment Property Databank
(IPD) oversees a number of schemes in both public and
private sectors, in the UK and elsewhere, with equivalent
data organisations also undertaking similar activities in
Europe. There are further published metrics relating to
total office occupancy and service charge costs in the UK,
which provide useful information10.
The European Standards Facilities Management Committee
published a standard in 2012, BS EN 15221-7: Guidelines
to Performance Benchmarking in Facilities Management.
This standard provides a framework applicable to the
performance of benchmarking within a European-wide
facilities management context.
For those taking part in benchmarking schemes, there are
key essentials to bear in mind:
• mutual trust and honesty, openness and a complete
willingness to share information
• fully agreed and clear operational rules from the
outset, with an agreed operational programme; and
• agreement of key metrics and methodologies for
collecting data and calculating performance.
The benefits of benchmarking schemes include the
innovation which comes from organisations that may be
trying out initiatives that have inter-organisation application,
the attention which can be directed towards the big
efficiency and effectiveness drivers and the focus on
under-performing accommodation and service provision
requiring particular management attention.
rics.org
5.5 Workplace productivity
The focus of attention for the last 20 years has been on
productivity. In the office, the performance of workspace
was promoted in the early 1990s by emerging desktop
computing and developing mobile computing and
telephony technologies. This led to the notion that greater
flexibility in work delivery and ‘agile workplaces’ would
provide staff with an opportunity to balance work and
lifestyle. In the telecommunications and computing sectors,
new workstyle ‘packages’ were developed involving
more flexible employment contracts and the allocation
of equipment which would enable work from wherever
a ‘phone connection was available’. These agile working
arrangements resulted in the development of desk sharing,
hot desking and serviced office facilities.
Flexible working and changes in office design and
convention have been enabled by further technological
advances and wireless communication. But, unlike the
manufacturing sector, where technological advance has
increased productivity enormously, it is difficult to prove
productivity improvement in the office environment.
Employees say they greatly appreciate the increased
workstyle flexibility but with continuing difficulty in
measuring what this means for workplace productivity,
some businesses are questioning the business advantages
of such schemes.
There is such a complex interaction between jobs,
workstyle, office design, technology availability and
capability, personal outlook on work, organisational factors
and culture that workplace productivity measures will
always be subject to questioning. Despite this, facilities
managers should have a clear focus and priority on
looking for and developing innovative solutions that return
operational efficiencies to organisations, whether this is
through providing improved workplace facilities or using
less workspace.
However, most thoughtful organisations and facilities
managers take the view that a comfortable working
environment, with technology which is understandable
and works, workstations which can be pre-booked, and
a selection of working places – social, quiet, confidential,
video-conferencing – will provide staff with a productive
environment. Add to this a quality building which is well
serviced, maintained and with good facilities and the
accommodation and facilities teams will almost certainly
have produced an efficient and effective environment
conducive to improved staff productivity.
RICS guidance note 23
 Strategic facilities management
5.6 Process review
The performance of the accommodation and the delivery
of services should be reviewed continually and controlled
changes made as the metrics dictate. The methodology
of delivery and the effectiveness of contractors and/
or in-house teams should be reviewed periodically in
accordance with actual or assumed contractual periods.
These reviews should be on an objective basis and
be subject to stringent business case analysis so that
there are visible business-led reasons for making any
changes. Regular forum meetings should enable the FM
team, suppliers and customers (occupiers) to decide if
new outsourcing arrangements should be tested and/or
whether the supply contracts should be re-tendered. In
this way, the client will be assured that best value is being
obtained and business value enhanced.
5.7 Conclusion
This guidance establishes a process and standard for
planning and managing facilities to enhance efficiency and
effectiveness. A strategically driven approach to facilities
management will provide maximum corporate benefit,
with outputs and returns measured on service quality and
value for money rather than cost. In this way, the facilities
operation will provide optimum support in achieving
corporate objectives, eliminating risk and enhancing
organisational performance.
24 RICS guidance note
Endnotes
Note 1 www.i-fm.net A subscription web site for up-to-the-minute
news and research on all facilities management related issues.
Note 2 RICS Research paper: Raising the Bar: enhancing the Strategic
Role of Facilities Management. A report for RICS by Occupiers’
Journal Ltd, November 2012.
Note 3 See BS8536. 2010. Facility management briefing code of
practice.
Note 4 See BS EN 15221-2. 2006. Guidance on how to prepare
facilities management agreements.
Note 5 See BS8572.2011. Guide to the procurement of facilities-
related services.
Note 6 TUPE: this is the colloquial abbreviation of the Transfer of
Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006
(SI 2006/246), which is the United Kingdom’s implementation
of the European Union Business Transfers Directive. It is an
important part of UK labour law, protecting employees whose
business/employment is being transferred to another service
provider through outsourcing or a business take-over.
Note 7 OJEC: the abbreviation stands for the Official Journal of the
European Community (OJEC is now recognised as OJEU – the
Official Journal of the European Union). This is the publication
in which all tenders from the public sector which are valued
above a certain financial threshold, according to EU legislation,
must be published. They appear in Schedule S of the Journal
along with other EU Procurement Directives. The legislation
covers public sector organisations including Local Authorities,
NHS Trusts, MOD, Central Government Departments and
Educational Establishments.
Note 8 FM Market Survey 2012 data from i-fm website.
Note 9 RICS research paper: Raising the Bar – Enhancing the strategic
role of facilities management, 2012.
Note 10 The UK Total Office Occupancy Costs 2012: https://www.
realestate.bnpparibas.co.uk/upload/docs/application/
pdf/2012-01/jan_2012_occupancy_costs_map.pdf
SCOR for Office 2012 and SCOR for Retail 2012; research into
service charges for principal office buildings in the UK and
through UK retail shopping centres: http://www.property-
solutions.co.uk/research-and-benchmarking/benchmarking/

Part 2. Managing facilities
1 Operational management
Overview
This section considers the management of the
supply of facilities services. The operational
facilities organisation, procurement, delivery,
performance management and customer care
are highlighted along with health and safety
requirements and business continuity planning.
Sustainable management of buildings and the
orderly management of property assets are
discussed.
1.1 Introduction
The FM strategic and delivery team should be linked within
the organisational structure to the business they support,
with a capability, either directly or through their outsourcing
contracts, to supply services of a quality to meet operational
needs at a competitive cost. Best practice calls for quality
driven delivery at a competitive cost – not the lowest cost.
The facilities team should be looking ‘over the horizon’ to
see what sector and operational changes may require the
adjustment of their services, workplace or locations and be
planning strategies to meet changes in operational direction.
1.2 Organisation
The structure of the FM department depends on the size
of the organisation it supports and the business sector
involved. These will determine what services are demanded,
the number of locations to be serviced and the corporate
policy about outsourcing versus in-house service provision.
The availability of suitably qualified and experienced staff will
play a part in determining the structure and organisation of
the team and the delivery methodology.
The key determinant of structure is the proportion of services
to be provided in-house. It is suggested by some that day
to day operational services should be subcontracted to
external suppliers. This frees up the FM team to manage
strategic and organisation-critical services and focus on
customer service. A FM Customer Relationship Manager
(CRM) or Account Manager (AM) should interface with
each business unit, establishing a communication link
and building a relationship that will facilitate valuable
conversations in future planning rounds about service
provision changes. These customer support functions may
also be outsourced, which would be the case if a Total
Facilities Management (TFM) contract was put in place.
rics.org
1.3 Managing delivery
An example of a possible delivery structure to provide
FM services to an organisation is shown in Figure P2 (1).
In this example, the FM organisation delivers operational FM
services through external providers and the performance is
overseen by the in-house FM CRM/AM who meet regularly
with the business unit managers. Service provision will be
adjusted to meet changing day to day circumstances and
the ‘internal customer’ may do this through the FM Help
Desk. Delivery quality is measured by the ultimate customer
through surveys and interviews by the FM CRM/AM.
Both the in-house FM team and external suppliers will
jointly benchmark performance, and feedback from the
internal customer will provide qualitative views to inform the
procurement team about adjustments to the delivery quality
and any changes needed to the supplier contracts.
The services identified as critical to the business units may
well continue to be provided directly by the in-house FM
team. For example, these could be security or specialist
services to secure areas over which the organisation wishes
to retain full control for strategic reasons. Such services will
be subject to performance measurement and qualitative
assessment so that the organisation has an on-going
awareness of the cost and quality comparables from both
external and internal suppliers.
At a strategic level, the FM team is tasked with maintaining
and improving communication links across the organisation,
as well as supplying some services directly. The ability to ‘
see over the horizon’ in conjunction with the business;
anticipating business-led change as well as new regulation,
advances in technology or new legislation, is important in
keeping one step ahead of the competition and ensuring
the accommodation portfolio responds quickly to change.
This corporate agility could provide valuable weeks of
advantage in getting products and services to the market
ahead of competitors.
1.4 Improving performance
Quality in the supply of services is difficult to measure, with
the impression of service being based on a balance between
customer expectation and perceived delivery quality.
However, delivery improvement can really only be achieved
if reliable performance metrics are available to the FM team
and organisation.
The accepted methodology for measuring performance
beyond the purely financial is the Balanced Scorecard1. Many
organisations, however, measure FM delivery only on financial
metrics, often just on cost alone but financial measures give
no indication of the effectiveness of accommodation on the
workforce or on business performance.
RICS guidance note 25
 Strategic facilities management
Figure P2 (1): The delivery of facilities services and corporate connections
Business operations
Corporate support
Business Units Strategic Planning
‘Over the horizon’ analysis of future Business
Unit and FM Service needs
Operational Business Units
FM CRM/AM service
Benchmarking & market testing
to check performance
FM CRM/AM service
Help desk. Current needs analysis
and service adjustment
Supply units provide FM
services to business units
It is good practice to concentrate on a limited range of
metrics, being a mix of financial and quality indicators to
provide measures of performance over time and to provide
operational targets for the different FM teams, whether
operational, customer relations or strategic specialists.
These will be reviewed regularly within the FM group and
reported periodically to the senior management team.
Trend lines will establish a performance graph, which
will show financial and non-financial performance. In this
way, regularly collected metrics will assist the FM team
to improve their performance and highlight to senior
managers that facilities management has an effect on
the bottom line.
1.5 Customer care and service
Customer care is a continuous process, commencing with
assessing the customer’s needs and designing a solution
which is deliverable and within budget. The facilities
manager needs to remember that what the immediate
customer wants above all else is the provision of services
and an environment which enables comfortable and
productive activity.
However, the facilities team will have some difficulty in
satisfying different ‘levels’ of customer. Is their customer
the occupant of the work station they see before them
(the individual), the manager around the corner (the
26 RICS guidance note
FM Service Delivery
services ICT,
HR, Finance STRATEGY &
Business-Critical
Services Delivery
I
CRM/AM
& Help Desk
OPERATIONAL
SERVICES SUPPLY
OUTSOURCED
O
Services
suppliers
I – In house supply of these services
O – Delivery of these services outsourced
department) or the occupants of prime offices on the top
floor (the corporation)? Each has different expectations and
it is down to the diplomatic skills of the facilities manager to
give an appropriate message to each, and as far as possible,
to meet the expectations of all three customer levels. For
facilities service suppliers to organisations directly serving
retailers, it is the external customer who is paramount.
The question of exactly who is the customer is most
important where a procurement group is involved with an
outsourcing programme. It is rarely the procurers who will
be the ultimate customer and it is essential that they have
an early and detailed specification-setting dialogue with the
main customer group. The supplier’s CRM or AM will need to
engage with these ultimate customers to establish a working
relationship as well as with the procurement group.
It is very important to provide a consistent level of service to
customers so that they know what to expect, and to train
staff in the delivery policies and processes which will ensure
the required consistency. One of the key contact points is the
Help Desk or Customer Service website where customers can
register their requests for service or register a complaint. This
should be managed meticulously, with careful and accurate
feedback about the actions being taken and when results
are likely to be seen. It is an added advantage where large
staff numbers are involved in service delivery, to have a ‘help
facility’ for delivery staff to check how they should respond to
or deal with particular situations.

The follow-up after a complaint or customer comment is
equally as important as the ‘fix’. Even where the requests
cannot be met, the customer needs to know and an
appropriate response invariably meets the need for
customer satisfaction.
Measuring customer satisfaction is crucial to making
decisions and implementing change in organisations. It is
essential to use survey methodologies in order to capture
relevant and accurate results. The survey, which will be
online, should be easy to answer and administer and have
the backing of the senior management team. A good
response rate will provide reliable management information,
which might point to further service delivery changes
to increase customer satisfaction. It is also possible to
use social media, with limited access facilities, to directly
poll staff about the working environment and workplace
services, with potentially immediate results.
It is absolutely essential to communicate results to the
whole organisation, together with a considered plan to
deal with the main issues arising from the survey. This
sets expectations and the perception that time taken to
complete the surveys is worthwhile. The communications
should be tailored to the audience – there will be a different
style of message to survey participants compared to the
report to senior managers. However, in each case the good
and the bad must be reported with the plan for change
where this is necessary.
1.6 Procuring services
The success of the facilities management operation
depends on the quality and reliability of suppliers whose
staff will be customer-facing and so will be representing the
FM in-house team. The choice of supplier and the scale
of the contract is critical so a decision-making process
should be followed which ensures a balance between cost,
quality, risk sharing, experience, capability and culture. The
latter is of great importance; depending on the extent of the
contract, suppliers will be partners with the organisation,
taking the place of employees, so the ‘cultural fit’ must be
exact or very close.
The facilities manager should produce a detailed definition
of what services are required and, ideally, invite suppliers
to workshops to discuss process, pricing and capabilities.
If an in-house procurement team is involved in the choice
of external contractor, their often price-driven approach
must be tempered to ensure that the cultural fit, quality
of services and the need to establish a partnership
relationship are weighted and scored into the decision-
making process, along with price.
Partnering on an ‘open book’ basis may produce a
service most aligned with the organisation’s operational
needs, and accountability can be assured if there is
initially a full competition on the choice of partner and
periodic price benchmarking, as well as a defined
contract period and agreed performance measure
audits as the contract proceeds.
rics.org
Such a solution should mean a minimum of oversight by
the facilities team and a flexibility of supply of services to
deal with peaks of demand, with the result that the in-house
facilities manager should have time to devote to customer
relationship building.
1.7 Service levels – specifications
and SLAs
Service specifications and service level agreements [SLAs]
are essential documents in the management of facilities.
They set down the output-driven guidelines for customers
and service providers in terms of the quality, methodology
and timeliness of supply and are used whether the services
are supplied in-house or by external service providers.
These formal documents establish:
• the essential customer service requirements and
minimum acceptable standards
• the service quality and performance (the outputs)
expected by the customer
• performance measures for the services; and
• the agreement for the supply and acceptance of
the services.
It is recommended best practice to prepare accurate
service specifications and SLAs so that contracts will be
better managed and not subject to misunderstanding and
misinterpretation. A mark of quality by the supplier [ISO
9000/9001.20080] should be considered essential by
the client and be achieved by the in-house facilities team.
This will ensure that a quality service level is in place against
which agreed performance and improvement targets can
be set.
1.8 Finance and facilities
The facilities manager will be involved, at the very least,
with the preparation of budgets, an operational income
and expenditure account for the portfolio, a system to pay
suppliers and the benchmarking of immediate-term and
whole-life costs. Taxation plays an important role in the
finances of the facilities team, whether VAT on supplies and
services, capital allowances on plant and machinery or the
depreciation of capital assets.
These are specialist areas with considerable amounts
of cash involved and in most businesses the accounting
team will look after such financial responsibilities. In smaller
organisations, best practice dictates that the financial
administration should be outsourced to an external
accounting practice.
1.9 Health and safety
The accommodation owned or occupied by all
organisations used by employees, customers or visitors
must comply with all relevant health and safety legislation
and other regulations. The principal legislation in the UK
RICS guidance note 27
 Strategic facilities management
is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 but specific
legislation covers industrial buildings and all construction
work in the UK is controlled by the Construction (Design
and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM). The
legislation and regulation applies to the client organisation
and is not ‘subcontracted’ by outsourcing to a facilities
management supplier.
All UK organisations with a staff of five or more must have
a health and safety policy, which is regularly reviewed,
and designate a nominated person to be responsible for
implementation. The nominee must be given authority to
cover administrative procedures to deal with all aspects of
health and safety within the workplace and carry out risk
assessments as necessary. The facilities team, whether
in-house or external, will be key players in this health and
safety planning regime and must be involved with risk
assessment exercises to help the organisation test their
compliance with legislation and regulation.
It is essential for the facilities team to be aware of and
be fully conversant with all current health and safety
regulations. Most jurisdictions will have an array of
regulations which mirror this listing and it is essential for
the facilities manager to be aware of local requirements,
where necessary using indigenous facilities suppliers and
consultants to ensure all requirements are being met.
The principal UK legislation and regulations are as follows:
• Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging
for Supply) Regulations 2002: require suppliers to
classify, label and package dangerous chemicals and
provide safety data sheets for them.
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
2007: cover safe systems of work on construction
sites.
• Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999:
require those who manufacture, store or transport
dangerous chemicals or explosives in certain
quantities to notify the relevant authority.
• Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005: require
employers to take action to protect employees from
hearing damage.
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Regulations 2002 (COSHH): require employers to
assess the risks from hazardous substances and take
appropriate precautions.
• Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres
Regulations 2002: require employers to control the
risks to safety from fire and explosions.
• Disability Discrimination Act 2005: requiring action to
be taken to ensure disability equality.
• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989: require people in
control of electrical systems to ensure they are safe to
use and maintained in a safe condition.
• Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969:
requires employers to take out insurance against
accidents and ill health to their employees.
• Equality Act 2010: codifies the complicated Acts
and Regulations which formed the basis of anti-
28 RICS guidance note
discrimination law. These were, primarily, the Equal
Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the
Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination
Act 1995 and three major statutory instruments
protecting discrimination in employment on grounds
of religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.
• Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997/1999:
covering risk assessments, emergency lighting and
equipment.
• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994:
cover safe installation, maintenance and use of gas
systems and appliances in domestic and commercial
premises.
• Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment)
Regulations 1992: set out requirements for work with
Visual Display Units (VDUs).
• Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981: cover
requirements for first aid.
• Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals)
Regulations 1996: give directions about workplace
safety signage.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1999: require employers to carry out
risk assessments, make arrangements to implement
necessary measures, appoint competent people and
arrange for relevant information and training.
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992: cover
the moving of objects by hand or bodily force.
• Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations
1992: require employers to provide appropriate
protective clothing and equipment for their
employees.
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
1998: require that equipment provided for use at
work, including machinery, is safe.
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: placing a
duty on individuals within an organisation to carry out
risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the
risk of fire.
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR): require
employers to notify certain occupational injuries,
diseases and dangerous events.
• The Health and Safety Information for Employees
Regulations 1989: require employers to display a
poster telling employees what they need to know
about health and safety.
• The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2003:
establishing working time limits to all non-mobile
workers in road, rail, air, sea, inland waterways and to
workers in the healthcare sector.
• Work at Height Regulations 2005/2007: applying to all
who work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable
to cause personal injury.
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1992: cover a wide range of basic health, safety and
welfare issues such as ventilation, heating, lighting,
workstations, seating and welfare facilities.
 rics.org

Facilities teams will be aware, in particular, of the hazardous
nature of materials such as asbestos and the care needed
to deal with airborne bacteria (Legionella), as well as the
potentially hazardous dust created during building, fit-out
works or through many industrial processes. Industry-
standard procedures for dealing with these and any other
hazardous activities and materials must be ‘visibly’ and
operationally established.
Fire safety, risk assessments, means of escape and
evacuation plans, emergency exits, emergency lighting
and fire fighting equipment are all key subjects for the
facilities team.
Facilities managers should be aware of the corporate
and, potentially, the personal legal consequences of
deficiencies in process or personal performance with
many of these health and safety-related processes2. In all
these cases, there must be procedures in place to protect
the organisation, its staff, visitors and customers as well
as the operational facilities teams whether in-house or
external suppliers.
1.10 Business continuity planning
Business Continuity Management (BCM) is the process
by which an organisation plans to deal with emergency
incidents which might otherwise prevent it from achieving
its operational objectives. The purpose of the BCM process
is the identification of potentially disruptive incidents and
the planning of measures to reduce the likely impact.
BCM should be implemented in all organisations as a
management system, hence the term Business Continuity
Management System (BCMS).
The principal task is to prepare a Business Continuity Plan
(BCP) as outlined in Table P2 (1).
A key step in the planning is the preparation of the Business
Impact Analysis (BIA), which determines recovery priorities
based on an assessment of the effect on the organisation
of the cessation of one or more of its operations. The
activities include:
• identification of operations which support key
products and services
• assessing the impact over time of stopping any one
operation
• an estimate of the maximum allowable period
of disruption – this is the period after which the
organisation’s viability is threatened because of
the damage caused to the organisation by the
interruption to operations
• the maximum period within which ceased activities
must be resumed
• the time required to resume all normal operational
levels
• the prioritising of recovery plans to focus on critical
activities and services; and
• identifying imperatives to enable recovery of
priorities, in particular, required external resources.
The information for the BIA will be sourced from around the
organisation by interview and through staff questionnaires.
The analysis of this information will enable the BIA to be
prepared, identifying those operations which are critical to
the continued well-being of the organisation and the time
required to re-establish their normal operational status.

Table P2 (1) : Business Continuity Plan template

Process Content and actions

Preparation of an Incident Consisting of notification and escalation arrangements, outline procedures for dealing
Response Schedule with the most common incidents, contact and check lists.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA) The BIA will determine priorities for recovery and recovery objectives based on likely
impacts of a cessation of all or some operations over varying timescales.

BCM strategies Analysis of a range of recovery strategies taking account of pre-existing resilience and
the importance of different products and services in priority for restoration.

Recovery procedures The plan made up of the emergency response, incident management and recovery
processes.

Continuing processes Plan testing, maintenance, audit and reviews on a regular sequence to ensure the plan
remains relevant and up to date.

BCM becomes a normal business Education of all staff and senior management team as well as suppliers, and as
process necessary, customers.

RICS guidance note 29

 Strategic facilities management
Figure P2 (2) – the BCM process through an emergency incident
Response
Peak activity levels
Consolidation phase
Initial
response
Investigation
Business Continuity Management Process
Communication
These critical operations should be subject to a risk
assessment carried out by operational managers, the
facilities and IT teams, to identify what actions would
reduce disruptive impacts and/or the time to return
operations to normality. This analysis completes the BIA.
The planned response has four components – the
initial response, consolidation and recovery phases and
a communication plan – see Figure P2 (2). The initial
response or emergency phase deals with the immediate
actions taken to limit damage and/or safeguard life. The
consolidation or incident management phase is concerned
with limiting organisational damage, managing business
impact and planning for recovery. The business recovery
phase plans the capability to recover by allocating
resources and restoring an acceptable level of service.
The communications plan is of great importance to
ensure all staff and, particularly, customers and suppliers
are aware of the emergency and the plans to return to
normality. Announcements should be made as soon as
the emergency occurs, to be followed by regular updates
as the Business Continuity Plan is put in place. The plan
will rely on the initial incident response schedule of key
contacts and the contact ‘tree’ which will run through
the BCP. The messages should be communicated by
senior managers to principal customers and down the
management line to other customers and suppliers as
well as to staff.
30 RICS guidance note
Recovery
phase
Testing Restoration
of Normality
Time
The Business Continuity Plan should be tested throughout
the organisation, if necessary via a complete ‘dress
rehearsal’ of an emergency. Any required adjustments
should be made following these tests and a system
of regular audits and updates established so that as
circumstances or the operations change, the BCP is
adjusted accordingly.
The plans and processes make up the Business Continuity
Management System (BCMS), which should be integrated
into the normal business planning processes and become
an organisational ‘way of life’. The FM team is a key member
of the BCMS process in drawing up the plans, particularly for
the BIA and the recovery plans. Its role will be substantially
greater if tasked with drawing up the whole BCMS. In
whichever role the facilities team finds itself, it will be required
to prepare strategies to deal with an array of practical issues,
ranging from replacement accommodation, ICT set up,
replacement furniture, stock, equipment, and temporary
catering, as well as, perhaps, plans to transport staff to
replacement locations.
As a subset of the corporate BCMS, the FM team should
prepare plans in great detail to ensure that they know
exactly what is expected of each facilities team member
in emergencies ranging from loss of power to the loss of
a building, or the failure of the whole business ICT system.
Such planning may seem extreme but it could make the
difference between organisational failure and recovery
should a catastrophe occur.

The quicker normality is restored, the less risk there
is to the organisation and lasting damage is avoided.
This process is potentially a huge contribution to
organisational performance.
It should be remembered in BCM strategy preparation
that events such as pandemics might have a dramatic
effect on the capability of an organisation or their
suppliers to provide services, thereby potentially
endangering business continuity.
For additional information, see the RICS paper, Business
Continuity Management, Planning for Business Resilience.
1.11 Sustainable property
Sustainability and environmental management are
important operational criteria for all organisations and
directly affect the corporate social responsibility (CSR)
measures which most businesses report on to investors.
It is not the function of this guidance to look at this topic in
any detail. References will be found in the Further Reading
section in Part 3, Appendix 4.
The main issues relating to buildings and impacting on
facilities managers are:
• energy sources – buying from renewable sources
• energy usage reduction through more efficient
heating, lighting and insulation, and building control
mechanisms
• construction materials – buying materials from
renewable sources and evaluating materials on the
basis of their embodied energy characteristics –
see RICS ‘Ska’ rating data3 for environmental
scoring of fit-out works
• water – recycling and rain water capture
• waste management – separation and recycling;
and
• pollution – more efficient boilers and vehicles.
The most effective way to improve environmental
performance is to reduce the amount of space occupied.
A distributed workplace and flexible workstyle strategy
will bring reductions in the amount of office floor-space
required and at the same time cut the amount of travel by
staff to and from office centres. This mixture of real estate,
fit-out, workplace and workstyle strategies will reduce
accommodation and facilities costs and assist with the
sustainability targets set in the organisation’s CSR strategy.
1.12 Property management
Many facilities managers become involved with property
management issues or have an overall responsibility for
managing an organisation’s property portfolio. Unless there
are in-house personnel with property experience and/or
qualifications, it is advisable to outsource this activity to
appropriate specialists.
rics.org
Property management expertise is particularly important in
the management of leasehold properties, to deal with such
matters as lease renewals, sub-lettings, compliance with
repairing obligations and the operation of break clauses,
assignments, alterations, dilapidations, rent reviews and
the minutia of occupying leased premises. Agency advice
is required for the acquisition and disposal of property,
particularly to ensure that no onerous liabilities are acquired
or retained in such transactions. The preparatory work for
transactions associated with EPCs, condition surveys and
other physical details will probably be carried out by the
facilities team.
Facilities managers looking for more information on
commercial property management may wish to consult
the RICS guidance Real estate management (GN99/2013)4.
1.13 Specialist services
There are many operations carried out in the public and
private sectors which require specialised servicing, for
example, health care, IT, utility or transport. Services such
as maintaining the environment and utility supply security
in a data centre or acute medical wards require critical
environment management (CEM), calling for specialist staff
(and training) whether the organisation chooses to carry
out this work in-house or through a specialist outsource.
It is often the case that such facilities service management
is retained in-house because it is crucial to the business.
1.14 Conclusion
The variety of operational issues discussed in this section
emphasises the wide and diverse role which the facilities
manager is asked to perform. Such is the scope of the role
that subcontracting, at the very least, some of the day-to-
day activities of the facilities team should be regarded as a
desirable strategy. This will allow the facilities manager and
members of the team to devote time to the more strategic
and critical elements of service planning and delivery for
their organisation.
Endnotes
Note 1 Balanced Scorecard – see Part 1, paras 5- 5.4
Note 2 See the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
2007. Companies and organisations can be found guilty of
corporate manslaughter as
a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross
breach of a duty of care.
Note 3 See www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/more-services/professional-
services/ska-rating-/about-ska-rating/
Note 4 RICS GN99/2013 – Real estate management. This can be
accessed at: www.rics.org
RICS guidance note 31
 Strategic facilities management
2 Maintenance
management
Overview
The maintenance of facilities and plant is an
important aspect of the job for many facilities
managers because breakdowns and outages
can be very costly to an organisation. An
established regime for maintenance and
workplace safety is a recommendation for all
facilities teams to follow.
2.1 Introduction
The maintenance and repair of buildings and plant, as
well as fixtures, fittings and other working equipment is
a major responsibility for facilities managers. It is their role
to ensure that the portfolio is statutorily compliant. It is
important for senior managers to understand this and to
realise that regular planned maintenance reduces the risk
of breakdown and potentially damaging failures of facilities.
Furthermore, the testing and maintenance of equipment
and plant at the prescribed frequencies, and the recording
of the results, are important steps in the health and safety
regime. It is also important for the facilities team to be
aware of the health and safety, employment and training
standards of all contractors, ensuring that the disciplines
and processes are regarded by all as ‘business as usual’
and to ensure that sub-contractors are similarly compliant.
2.2 Types of maintenance
Maintenance is a combination of the technical and
associated administrative actions needed to keep a facility
in a condition enabling it to perform effectively in support
of the occupying organisation’s operations.
Maintenance may be planned or unplanned. Planned
maintenance is organised and carried out in accordance
with a predetermined programme. It may take the form of
an inspection when no physical work is required or works
may be carried out to prevent later failure or deterioration.
Unplanned or reactive maintenance is a responsive
reaction to a failure of the facility often involving a repair
which will return the building, plant or system to an
acceptable operational status.
Preventative maintenance, rather like car servicing, is
carried out to ensure, as far as possible, that no breakdown
will occur. Such programmes may be a basic check of
essential plant through to a comprehensive investigation
and testing to manufacture’s recommendations. For critical
plant, a regular full service with parts replacement as
required should prevent emergency breakdowns occurring.
32 RICS guidance note
2.3 Condition assessments
It is recognised good property management practice to
carry out regular condition surveys of all buildings within
a portfolio, or at least those facilities which have a key
operational role and where failure would have substantial
corporate implications. The results of such inspections
will provide information to enable accurate operational
planning and financial budgeting as schedules of future
maintenance works are built up across a portfolio. The
inspection analysis will also form part of the strategic
review process for the whole operational portfolio, so that
buildings which perhaps have a limited organisational
life do not, for example, have large sums expended on
refurbishments with paybacks beyond their expected
‘portfolio life’.
2.4 Managing delivery
Planned maintenance programmes are best controlled
using software which links to the asset register for each
facility and highlights the operational importance and
servicing requirement for each piece of plant. This will
ensure an efficient use of time by visiting operatives and
the completion of records enabling the performance of the
facility to be tracked.
The remote sensing of the performance of plant and
machinery within large buildings is an important element
in improving the efficiency of the facilities team and
in servicing the building as upcoming problems are
identified. Whether these technologies should enable the
replacement of planned visits by inspectors/surveyors
is a matter for discussion. However, it is likely that the
frequency of visits to check on some plant items can be
reduced where buildings are remotely monitored.
The execution of maintenance works, whether planned or
unplanned, deserves detailed consideration since it has
the potential to cause expense and delay if not managed
efficiently. While the facilities team may manage a number
of contractors, a preferred solution might be to outsource
the servicing and maintenance roles to a ‘total support
contractor’ to whom maintenance requirements are
directed and who will organise the appropriate unplanned
incident response or planned maintenance service
as required by the organisation. These arrangements
ensure that the appropriate contractor or engineer is
commissioned to visit each building and the facilities team
will receive reports of condition and/or required repairs
as inspections and maintenance works proceed. They
will also be in a position to assess performance against
their maintenance budgets and adjust the works required
dependent upon the occupation strategy for each facility.
 rics.org

Table P2 (2) Operating and Maintenance Manual template

Part 1 Introduction Contents, use of the manual, emergency information, contacts listing, contractual
and service information, utilities suppliers and contacts.

Part 2 Health and safety Confirmation of the legislation applicable. Risk assessments. Waste disposal
information.

Part 3 Building description Overall description of the building with outline design and construction parameters.

Part 4 Operating procedures Overview of procedures for operating the building with BMS explanation and set down
procedures. Routine inspections. Fault finding and remedial actions. Emergency
procedures.

Part 5 Manufacturer’s full listing Full asset register including a complete plant listing, with plant serial numbers linked
to supplier information ‘addresses’, including contact listings. Spares listings.

Part 6 Maintenance regime Maintenance procedures for the building and M&E equipment and other mechanical
plant. Links to manufacturers’ handbooks/information and to supplier care contacts.
Regular maintenance task programme listing.

Part 7 Full commissioning and certification data.

Part 8 Full sets of as built drawings.

2.5 Risk assessments, safety
and maintenance
Risk assessment practices do have the effect of reducing
workplace injuries. As well as highlighting risks resulting
from poor practice or fit-out, they highlight outstanding
maintenance and repair. Again, software driven check
assessments may be carried out which track conditions
such as office environment, cleaning quality, trailing
leads, noise and the control of hazardous substances.
The facilities team may rank the risks on a prioritised basis
and work through the listing as time and resources allow.
Effective maintenance programmes will help to ensure
a safe working environment. Facilities managers have a
legal duty, on behalf of the senior team, to ensure safe
working conditions and compliance with legislation and
regulation must be included in contracts and service level
agreements (SLAs). Regular reports on health and safety
performance should be provided by contractors and by
the facilities team to senior management.
2.6 Building operating and
maintenance manual1
The increasing complexity of buildings and sophistication
of plant, machinery and controls means that operation and
maintenance manuals for all but the smallest of buildings
are essential information for the facilities management
team. For new buildings, the developer’s architect
should provide this manual to the owner. In most cases,
occupiers of parts of buildings will not require the whole
manual but the facilities manager will require a section
dealing with the operation of the occupied areas.
These manuals define the procedures to efficiently operate
and maintain buildings and will include detail about the
structural specification, mechanical and electrical systems,
air conditioning and heating and all other plant and
control items, as well as the utility supply capacities and
locations. A typical template for this information manual
is shown above. The document should be available both
electronically for multiple and remote access and in ‘hard
copy’ at the building.
2.7 Conclusion
Property maintenance budgets, rather like the principal
facilities management budget, are subject to ‘raids’ by
the internal financial community when the organisation’s
overall performance is poor. However, the potential
corporate cost of facility failure or of a health and safety
incident resulting from a downgrade of maintenance is
impossible to predict or measure. The facilities team
should ensure that the maintenance budget is preserved
to protect the image, reputation, operational integrity and
legal status of the organisation. Maintenance is not an
activity to be shelved; the consequences of doing so can
be catastrophic or at least business damaging.
Endnotes
Note 1 Facilities Management Manuals – a best practice guide.
CIRIA, 2002

RICS guidance note 33

 Strategic facilities management

3 Managing office 3.2 Space and service

workspace management
The management and allocation of space is of prime
importance in creating effective workspace and managing
Overview the accommodation budget. The facilities team are
The very important role of providing and the managers of the ‘tension’ between the demand for
and supply of space and services in the office and for
managing an effective and productive reconciling these forces to create the right workplace
workplace is discussed along with the problems environment. This is illustrated in Figure P2 (3).
associated with measuring productivity and
On the left, the illustration shows market conditions,
keeping occupiers and the organisation secure. corporate vision and mission, business performance and
pricing affecting the operational requirements for space
and services. This ‘demand’ will be within the price/
3.1 Introduction cost parameters set in the budget for the year and the
organisation’s longer term strategy for accommodation and
It is recognised that optimum workplace management services. The ‘flexing’ of space and service needs should
aims to create the right balance of environmental not be a surprise to the facilities team who should have an
ambiance and working technology to suit the understanding of the organisation’s operational strategies
requirements of the occupiers. However, there is from regular meetings with managers.
much more to the facilities management role than
providing space and managing ICT to the building. The On the right, the facilities team are procuring services in
accommodation must support various work modes and the external marketplace. This example assumes levels
the differing working environment needs of individuals of outsourcing of service provision. Again the supply of
and working groups. The facilities team are called upon to services should be in accordance with the strategies and
manage the ‘working experience’ of occupiers rather than plans previously agreed for the supply of services.
just providing functioning workstations and workspace.

Figure P2 (3) – Managing demand/supply of space and services

Facilities Management

Corporate
Operational Business Environment
Impact on business unit demand

Impact on services procurement

Corporate policy/
policy/culture culture

Operational Facilities Support Provision External Services Market

Business Real Estate Workplace services
demand Services of services
unit plans flexibility Environment supply
variables flexibility & utilites
variables

Facilities Workplace
support management

Demand to agreed workspace plan Affordability Supply to agreed service plan

Space & services

Managing demand/supply of space adjusted as business Managing demand/supply of services
strategies change

Source: Then 1996 1

34 RICS guidance note


Figure P2 (4) – A variety of work settings
Socialising work
Team building, corporate identity
reinforcement with group delivery
of tasks ‘stamped’ with group brand
Learning and innovation
Learning from the team and using
group power to develop and innovate
The final workplace environment, in terms of space
allocated and services provided, will be delivered in
accordance with the plans and processes laid down in the
delivery strategies and plans (see Part 1 of this guidance).
It is important to reiterate that the facilities team should
have early visibility of operational plan changes so that
it can respond to workspace demand needs. It is also
assumed that the fit-out adopted will provide a degree
of flexibility so that physical workspace changes can
be achieved without delay. The agility required in most
organisations to bring new products and services to
market makes a swift response to workspace changes of
great importance and an opportunity to gain competitive
advantage.
3.3 Design of the workplace
Research output from Gensler2 shows that the adoption
of generic open plan office layouts, with even the best
workstations and with state of the art technology will
not suit every peripatetic worker who turns up to use
the space. Indeed, such arrangements, whatever their
quality, may please very few.
rics.org
Collaborative work
Delivery by working with others,
face to face or via video links
Individual focus work
Individual, task oriented,
work delivery
The Gensler output shows that knowledge workers require
a number of different working modes (settings) in order
to achieve optimum productivity. These are identified as:
individual focus, collaborative, learning and innovation,
and socialising modes. An indication of exactly what
these four activities mean is shown in Fig P2 (4).
Further research through 2010 until 2012 across a large
number of workspace occupiers has shown that the
importance of the ‘individual focus mode’ has often been
overlooked in the drive for open plan workspace, so while
some individual ‘thought’ spaces are designed into new
layouts, there is often a considerable under-provision of
such accommodation. The conclusion reached is that
workplace strategies which omit adequate provision of
individual focus space, with possibly too much collaborative
space, will result in decreased effectiveness for both. This
is because the frustration built up by the inability to work
without interruption in individual spaces reflects into other
work areas, producing poor productivity throughout.
RICS guidance note 35
 Strategic facilities management
3.4 Workspace remodelling to
optimise performance
It seems, therefore, that much of the space that is laid out
in open plan offices suits a ‘generic occupier’, giving every
impression of being effective and, indeed the space packs
in the workstations and appears to offer an optimum
workplace, but actually suits very few.
As discussed, the focus mode worker, seeking a space for
quiet uninterrupted working often finds an under provision
of such space. There are many and continuing complaints
that too many interruptions from noise, colleagues and
communication equipment occur in standard layouts.
This is not difficult to fix and some organisations are
providing individual working cells which users can modify
to suit their needs. Are we moving back to the individual
office with the space and usage inefficiencies this implies?
While there may be a slight possibility of this, focus
spaces are not permanently allocated and the occupants
are invariably mobile individuals whose occupation will
be transient.
Generic, one-size-fits-all workspaces tend to choke-
off thought workers, stifling innovation and invention by
forcing people to work in pre-determined workspaces,
which for some are ‘uncomfortable’ and lack the
inspirational atmosphere which creates the productive
activity that organisations are seeking. Alternatively, they
may seek to work elsewhere and lose the benefits of
collaboration, learning and socialising, which are also
important workplace activities.
The requirements for the collaboration, learning and
socialising modes are recognised in standard open plan
layouts. However, there are changes needed here too,
with a steadily growing requirement for the virtualisation
of these three working modes, so that specialised
facilities with quiet areas/rooms are required to enable
longer conference calls to be taken without interruption.
The creation of a collaborative environment for focused
thought during a ‘virtual gathering’ requires the ‘right’
space to enable effective interaction.
The key lesson is that facilities managers should listen
to the users of workspaces, hear their views on what
is good, what is needed and what can be omitted. The
facilities manager should see how other organisations are
designing office space and track the global office fit-out
trends for businesses in similar sectors. Through on-going
collaboration with the users of the workspace, a design
to suit a number of different modes will be devised which
should support the majority of the occupying population.
It should be possible to achieve the most efficient and
effective layout for each organisation without too much
business-specific designing of the workspace or excessive
fit-out costs. It is as well to remember that corporate
waste of valuable working time by valuable staff far
outweighs the marginal increased cost in achieving
a favourable working environment for the majority.
36 RICS guidance note
3.5 Workplace effectiveness
The elusiveness of an office effectiveness and productivity
measure has been a problem for organisations for
20 years. Studies have shown on a macro scale that
temperature, ventilation, air quality, humidity, acoustics
and lighting levels do have a direct and measurable
effect on the performance of office occupiers. Building
management system and sensor technologies enable
environmental conditions to be controlled and balanced by
the facilities team and while the cost of doing so may be
significant, the cost of an unproductive office environment
will be very much higher on the ‘significance scale’.
The facilities team should also pay particular attention
to ergonomics to ensure occupiers are not working in a
way which might endanger their health through muscular-
skeletal disorder. The Health and Safety Executive and the
Institute of Ergonomics provide detailed information on this
subject3. The value of a safe working environment cannot
be over-emphasised both in terms of the organisation’s
legal responsibilities but also from an overall welfare and
productivity perspective.
The key question remains: is the productivity of an office
worth measuring given the difficulty? As mentioned
earlier, the cost of staff and the building means that any
indicator which throws light on the payback for this level
of investment must be worthwhile. The facilities team,
through their performance measurement surveys and the
balanced scorecard approach to qualitative measures, will
provide valuable feedback. In recent surveys, in answer
to the question: ‘The design of my workplace is important
to me’, 90.1% of respondents answered ‘yes’, indicating
a strong interest in the workplace environment. Of more
significance is this question: ‘The design of my workplace
enables me to work productively’ to which 53.7% agreed.
These results come from Leesman4 which specialises in
measuring workplace effectiveness. Their surveys focus on
the occupant’s response to the physical office environment
and the facilities services provided. The survey continues
with questions probing the impact of workplace design
on corporate image and culture and the enjoyment,
community activity and productivity of the workplace.
Whether facilities managers use the results of their own
occupier surveys or those from external consultants to
gauge office effectiveness and productivity, it is time to
make this topic a worthwhile part of on-going facilities
management strategies.

3.6 Workplace security
This is a big subject and it is not the purpose of this
section to provide anything more than an overview of
the considerations which facilities managers should give
to security.
Overall organisational security should be considered
when occupiers are in the process of assessing the
suitability of a building for their operations. Adjacencies,
neighbouring or sharing occupiers, stand-off areas, the
district and its communications, utility supply diversity and
other vulnerabilities should be scored when decisions on
location are being made. The specification, quality and
durability of the structure are also of great importance
when considering the suitability of a building from security
and occupational protection perspectives.
At building level, personal and corporate security
considerations will include access controls (physical,
manned and electronic), intruder detection, CCTV and
duress alarms, bio recognition and other technological
means of asset and personal protection, which will track
the location of people and physical objects within the
building and its precincts.
The key balance is to ensure that security to the required
level exists and to provide occupants with the knowledge
that their well-being is top priority and that all reasonable
steps have been taken to keep them safe. The facilities
team, in partnership with senior managers, should liaise
with staff to assess what level of security will be provided
and the degree of ‘intrusion’ which will be tolerated to keep
the organisation, its assets and staff in a secure condition.
The security of the organisation’s systems is a specialist
area which is normally managed by the ICT team. However,
the facilities team may be called upon to deal with this
additional responsibility and should consider the security
standards set down in ISO 27001:20055. This specifies the
selection of appropriate processes and controls to protect
the information assets of an organisation.
Other areas to be checked include network and system
resilience, cyber espionage and server security, business
continuity and disaster recovery testing, power security
and an overall system risk analysis.
rics.org
3.7 Power security
The majority of businesses run 24 x 7 systems which
themselves rely on power supplies being available at all
times. Before buildings are acquired, organisations should
check the availability and adequacy of utility supplies and
power diversity. Where operations are corporate-critical,
fall-back arrangements should be made by the facilities
team to ensure standby power is available through an
uninterrupted power supply system (UPS), providing
short-term back-up from batteries, or from their own
generation plant.
These systems are expensive to run and maintain but
compared to the losses which might result from, for
example, a banking trading floor power outage, the costs
are insignificant.
3.8 Conclusion
This section has considered some of the important issues
for the facilities manager in the management of office
workplaces. Office design, performance measurement,
security and space effectiveness issues demonstrate again
the varied role of this discipline. These critical issues will
rise up the corporate agenda and the facilities manager
needs to be sure that senior managers understand who
keeps the business infrastructure ‘ticking over’.
Endnotes
Note 1 Diagram adapted from one appearing in A study of
organisational response to the management of operational
property assets and facilities and support services as a
business resource – real estate asset management.
(From an unpublished thesis by DSS Then, Herriot University,
Edinburgh 1996)
Note 2 Gensler: What we’ve learned about focus in the workplace.
www.gensler.com/uploads/documents/Focus_in_the_
Workplace_10_01_2012.pdf
Note3  rgonomics and human factors at work, at: http://www.hse.
E
gov.uk/pubns/indg90.pdf and www.ergonomics.org.uk
Note4 Leesman Index and Benchmarking Analytics:
www.leesmanindex.com
Note5 ISO 27001:2005: www.27000.org/iso-27001.htm
RICS guidance note 37
 Strategic facilities management
4 People and
organisational capability
Overview
People are the key resource for facilities
delivery. Service quality will depend upon the
experience and training of the team and this
section looks at the education and training of
the right candidates for the sector. Assessing
the capability and capacity of the facilities
team is considered together with the ability
of facilities staff to lead cross-organisation
projects and deliver corporate change projects.
4.1 Introduction
The various definitions of facilities management discussed
in Appendix 1 (see page 48) may give the impression that
the facilities manager should be a ‘jack of all trades and
(perhaps) master of none’, but nothing could be further
from the truth. However, the problem for busy facilities
managers is the prioritisation of the many calls upon
their time.
A key part of the job is building relationships with
operational managers with the intention of gaining
information about their accommodation and services
requirements. It is really important for the facilities
manager to have an understanding of the business
of the occupiers whether they are colleagues in the
same organisation or customers of the service provider
employing the facilities manager.
While being service-centric is of prime importance, the
facilities manager will also have a practical interest in
the buildings being managed – what makes them ‘tick’ –
as well as the ICT and utilities infrastructure that keeps
them ‘alive’.
So, facilities managers need to have excellent
management and communications skills, combined
with specialist know-how. The role is one which on
the one hand is strategic and on the other operational.
The facilities manager needs a wide variety of skills to
efficiently run a building or a portfolio of buildings, finding
ways to make things work for everyone so that quality,
sustainable services are provided at a competitive cost.
This is an unusually wide role and a range of education
and training products has become established to suit
the range of jobs in facilities management, from the very
technical to the senior facilities management roles in
supplier businesses.
38 RICS guidance note
4.2 Education and training
There are a number of professional bodies1 providing
education and training in the facilities management
discipline at levels ranging from Facilities Services
(Level 2) to an MSc or Post Graduate Diploma in
Facilities Management (Level 7) – see Table P2 (3).
Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for facilities
management, housing, property, cleaning and parking,
role is to develop national occupational standards for
employees, which reflect the needs of employers in
its footprint. These standards are adopted to create
qualifications. It also provides a brokerage service of
available training.
Asset Skills is an employer-led organisation, licensed
by government and working with business, public and
professional bodies, and education and training providers,
to ensure that required training needs are met and that
courses are easily accessible.
4.3 Core competencies in
facilities management training
Analysis of the facilities management role suggests the
following principal competencies are relevant to the job:
• building and workplace management – building
maintenance and performance, environmental
services, workspace design and management,
technology and communications (ICT)
• financial management – accounting, purchasing
and supply, budgets, business cases
• service delivery – account/customer relationship
management, delivery process and systems,
contracts, performance metrics
• compliance – legal and regulatory requirements,
in particular for the health and safety of users of
buildings and staff; and
• general management – communication,
leadership, strategy, change management,
procurement and risk management.
These competencies are covered by the various available
courses and in addition, Continuous Professional
Development courses (CPD) supply the necessary
knowledge updates, particularly in the legal and regulatory
area, which are essential to the orderly and legal
management of a facilities operation.

Figure P2 (3) – Asset Skills Education and Training Matrix for Facilities Management
Vocationally Related/
Professional Qualifications
L7 MSc or MBA in Facilities Management
BIFM Postgraduate Certificate &
Diploma in Facilities Management
(Job titles include Director of Services,
Head of Global Facilities, Deputy Director)
L6 Bachelor’s Degree in Facilities
Management
Other relevant degrees such as Surveying,
STANDARD NATIONAL QUALIFICATION LEVEL
Planning, Management etc. BIFM Level 6
Qualifications in Facilities Management
(Job titles include Regional Director,
Head of Department)
L5 Foundation degree in Facilities
Management
BIFM Level 5 Qualifications
in Facilities Management
Higher Level Apprenticeship
in Facilities Management
(Job titles include Facilities
Manager, Area Facilities Manager)
L4 BIFM Level 4 Qualifications
in Facilities Management
Higher Level Apprenticeships
in Facilities Management
(Job titles include Assistant Facilities
Manager, Team Leader)
L3 BIFM Level 3 Qualifications
in Facilities Management
Advanced Apprenticeship
in Facilities Management
(Job titles include Facilities Administrator)
L2 BIFM Level 2 Qualifications
in Facilities Services
Apprenticeship in Facilities Services
(Job titles include Facilities co-ordinator)
Personal Qualities and Skills
Technical knowledge of Problem solving skills
building service IT Skills
The ability to manage Good spoken and
a complex workload written skills
Customer Management The ability to manage
Skills large budgets
Legal and Health &
Safety knowledge
rics.org
Professional bodies
British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM)
Affiliate, Associate, Member, Certified and
Fellow levels of membership are available.
www.bifm.org.uk
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
As a surveyor with membership to RICS you can
use the title Chartered Facilities Management
Surveyor provided you meet the RICS criteria
and there is an FM pathway into AssocRICS
www.rics.org
Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
Student, Associate, Incorporated, Member
and Fellow levels of membership are available
www.ciob.org.uk
Chartered Institute of Building Services
Engineers (CIBSE)
has FM specialist interest groups.
www.cibse.org
FACILITIES MANAGER
Opportunities
You could find work with a wide range of
organisations as an in-house facilities manager.
This could be in any area of business including
public sector and non-profit making companies,
or other large businesses such as law firms
and banking.
Alternatively, you could be employed by specialist
contractors, or by large multi-service companies
that provide a full range of design, build, finance
and management services.
If you have strong administrative skills and
experience, you may be able to work your way
up to a facilities management position.
For example, some people take on wider
responsibilities after working in a management
job in areas such as building maintenance,
cleaning, catering or security.
Suitable previous careers include:
Hospitality Block Management
Cleaning/Caretaking Surveying
Engineering Business or Finance
Business Services Security
Asset Management Catering
Trades – Electrical, Land Management
Plumbing, Heating &
Property Development
Ventilation etc.
RICS guidance note 39
 Strategic facilities management
4.4 Reaching the right candidates
It is important for the sector to become more visible as
a career opportunity across the age range from school
leavers upwards. The messages to potential candidates
are unclear, not helped by the confusing multiplicity of
definitions of facilities management. A joint approach by
the professional bodies to publicise material which will
inform those at all levels about the many opportunities
offered in facilities management up to degree level
candidates, would go some way to promoting the facilities
manager within corporate operations, and provide a better
understanding of the roles available within the profession.
4.5 Reaching the wider business
community
The message about the strategic importance of facilities
management in driving value needs to be broadcast to
the wider business community through whatever means
available. Facilities professionals speaking at business
conferences could do much to increase visibility and
understanding, while case study material in the business
press would create interest and understanding to a
generally ‘disinterested’ general management community.
In these communications, the facilities management
profession needs to dispel the impression that facilities
contracts are all about minimum price, delivering minimally
acceptable quality services and missing delivery targets.
While it is difficult in this highly competitive sector to
‘retrench from this cost driven rut’, particularly in harsh
economic times, the future for the sector depends upon
a shift of focus to quality, fair price and a core business-
enhancing service to its customers.
4.6 Leadership
The facilities manager is well placed to take the lead of the
organisation’s Core Services Support Group2. Leading the
agenda in projects involving this group requires an ability
to formulate and promote the project and the roles of the
various supporting teams as well as what is required from
the organisation’s operational managers. The leader must
have the persuasive power to influence and guide the
decisions and strategies others will take in relation to the
organisation’s resources and services. The ability to ‘lead
upwards’ in terms of influencing senior management is
another requisite skill. If this can be perfected, the facilities
manager stands a very good chance of promoting the
advantages not only of the project, but also of the value
of facilities management to the organisation as a whole.
For the facilities manager, taking the time to provide
leadership of the group for issues that require the
combined efforts of the core support services will
add value, in particular, to the profile and status of the
facilities team.
40 RICS guidance note
4.7 Change management
Some of the projects which require the facilities manager
to take on a leadership role will involve organisational
change. Change may be taking place, for example, to
concentrate the organisation on its key objectives, to
‘de-clutter’ non-core activities, to flatten the structure or
to redesign processes. Whatever the reason, structural
change will require a redesign of the delivery units and a
change of accommodation and service delivery. These
organisation-wide projects will involve the whole of the
core support teams and again there is a role for the
facilities manager in leading the change management
drive. This will certainly be the case if the change project
is a prospective outsource of facilities service delivery, with
the need to prepare detailed project specifications
to assess the business cases for the various options
under consideration.
Structural change of this type creates organisation-wide
concern for staff and so it is imperative that the change
team takes the time to plan the project meticulously and
to design into the process detailed communication events
so that everyone is clear about what is planned. Change
management is a strategically important operation,
refocusing the organisation and enabling it to respond to
external competition. Whatever organisational change is
contemplated will mean a change in services delivered
by the facilities team to workplaces and perhaps to new
locations. Outsourcing the facilities function will mean a
very fundamental change and a possible transfer of staff
to an external supplier.
Such change projects require the skills of a good project
manager, with an understanding of the objectives of the
organisation to manage the prospective changes. The
senior facilities manager, with the ability to efficiently plan
the change steps and the consequential organisational
and core support service changes, will provide the ideal
leader for the project. However, a manager outside the
facilities function would be required to objectively oversee
the management of the outsourcing of that service.
The efficient delivery of change management projects
enables an organisation to compete effectively in a
dynamic market and the speed of response will provide
advantage over less agile competitors.
4.8 Organisational culture,
structure and capability
The culture and attitude of an organisation towards
facilities management is a significant factor in the
delivery of a successful facilities service. To be optimally
effective, the facilities function should be recognised
and supported by management as a service which will
enhance organisational performance. Only then will fully
aligned facilities and business plans be produced and
the necessary dialogue take place about upcoming
operational changes which will need the support of the
facilities team.

In order to enhance organisational performance, the
facilities team needs:
• to have good links with, or be a member of, the
strategy forming group to understand fully the aims
and objectives of the whole organisation including
those of the individual business units and to be
involved with corporate decision-taking
• to be led by a respected facilities manager who has
access to all operational business units
• a clear reporting line to a senior board level member
• a mechanism to ‘unload’ day to day activity to a
service provider, so that strategic, corporate focused
activities can continue unhindered
• a link to financial planning so that project business
cases can be ‘tested’ and performance metrics and
benchmarking objectively carried through
• a good dialogue with the core support teams and,
ideally, an agreement that the facilities manager will
take a lead role in organisation-wide projects; and
• the support of the finance and operational teams
when the annual planning and budget discussions
take place, to ensure mutually supportive strategies
and operational plans are developed.
The organisation needs to be ‘driven’ by a senior manager
to ensure these structural imperatives are established
for the benefit of the whole organisation. However, the
organisation should be sure that the facilities management
infrastructure has the capability to carry through these
responsibilities.
4.9 Delivery profile matrix
Table P2 (4) illustrates a Delivery Profile Matrix, which aims
to measure facilities management practice and identify the
capacity and capability of the operation. Each assessment
area, shown by darker blue tinting, is broken down into
a number of sub-sets and scored individually so that a
picture is established of the strengths and shortfalls of the
facilities operation. Action plans can then be drawn up to
‘plug the gaps’ and show where additional training and
support may be needed.
Taking the first assessment area of strategy, a selection
of the questions leading to the ultimate score of
‘competence’ might look like this:
1. Are accommodation and facilities management
services considered as part of the strategic planning
discussions for the organisation and its operating
units?
2. Does this extend to detailed discussions about right
place, right space, right services, and right cost for
each operation?
3. Has the organisation considered a number of
solutions to the supply of facilities services –
outsourcing in part or in total, for example.
4. Have all options been systematically and objectively
analysed?
rics.org
5. Is there a system for regular reviews of the services
supply strategy, to ensure that changes in operations
are reflected in accommodation and service supply
changes?
In the same way, examples of questions under the
assessment area of ‘performance management’ and leading
to the ‘competent’ score might be:
1. What arrangements are in place to measure the
performance of the facilities team?
2. What management process exists for reacting to these
performance assessments?
3. In relation to service delivery, what methods are
used to check the quality of services delivered to
customers?
4. How objectively are these results analysed and
what process is adopted to address shortfalls in
performance?
5. How does the facilities operation assess its
performance compared to other similar operations in
the sector and against the performance of external
service providers?
6. Is this achieved by benchmarking with other sector
organisations, using information that comes from
services provided by both in-house and external
facilities teams?
This analytical method aims to assess the capacity and
capability of in-house facilities management teams as
a means of improving their operations or as part of an
exercise to consider alternative delivery strategies for the
organisation. It is not, of course, appropriate for the analysis
of the capability of external suppliers.
This technique is an adaption of the matrix developed
by OGC (now the Cabinet Office), to test property asset
management proficiency in the public sector. This is the
‘output end’ of a very detailed questionnaire developed to
test the level of in-house capability to provide excellence
throughout the range of facilities services. It is designed
to be used to ‘test’ the abilities of the facilities team from
a number of different perspectives.
In the Table P2 (4), the score of ‘competent’ indicates that
there is an appreciation of the need for an alignment of
facilities with business strategies and that the facilities group
has been involved with the creation of such strategies.
This is underlined by the ‘excellence’ scores for delivery
plans and operations management, where it is evident that
discussions with the internal customer have produced a
set of delivery specifications and operational plans to suit
the requirements of the business units. This in turn shows
a capacity and capability competence within the team who
are operating within a set of policies and standards and
with a data and a management information system which
supports their operations. There is only an ‘awareness’
of the possibility of delivering change with a present
lack of capability but there is in place a ‘competence’ in
performance management and measurement. The review
and audit system is scored ‘average’ and needs some
attention. The overall score of 26, against a potential 36,
shows that there is room for improvement.
RICS guidance note 41
 Strategic facilities management

Table P2 (4) : Facilities Management Delivery Profile Matrix

Review & audit

Deliver change
Delivery plans

Score totals
management

management
Performance
Operations

Data & MIS

Capacity &

standards
capability

Policies &
Strategy
Score
Delivery Profile
Excellence 4 X X 8

Competent 3 X X X X X 15

Average 2 X 2

Aware 1 X 1

Unaware 0

A B C D E F G H I 26

4.10 Conclusion Endnotes

The quality of service experienced by customers depends
largely on the capabilities and training of the people
delivering the service, no matter how good the process
and management behind the scenes. So, it is vitally
important to source the right people and to train them in a
service culture. Training and education opportunities are
provided by the professional bodies and higher education
establishments and investment by service suppliers in
their staff will be quickly paid back.
The requirement for education and training is not confined
to the point of delivery. Good quality management must
be developed and there are a number of higher education
and university level courses available to upgrade
management, leadership and change management skills.
One of the problems the sector has is attracting the
right candidates and focusing general managers on the
importance of facilities management to overall operations.
Ensuring that the facilities management message is
‘broadcast’ in the right arenas is very important and is a
topic for all the sector professional bodies to consider.
Note 1 Professional bodies providing facilities-related education and
training:
BIFM – www.bifm.org.uk
CIBSE – www.cibse.org
CIOB – www.ciob.org.uk
IFMA – www.ifmafoundation.org
RICS – www.rics.org
Courses available at UK universities:
See the websites of the Universities of Brighton, Herriot Watt,
Napier, Reading, Liverpool John Moores, Leeds Metropolitan,
Salford, Westminster, Central Lancashire, Greenwich, Glasgow
Caledonian, Swansea Metropolitan, Sheffield Hallam, the Open
University (OU) and University College London.
Courses are also available from the College of Estate
Management (CEM).
Note 2 Core Services Support Group: the finance, human resources,
procurement, real estate and facilities management teams
which support an organisation’s operational units.

42 RICS guidance note


5 Technology, information
and data management
Overview
Facilities management information and data
handling systems are discussed together with
new technologies which are changing – and
will change much further – the way in which
buildings and accommodation are designed
and managed.
5.1 Introduction
The success of a facilities management operation is
absolutely dependent upon a robust and well- designed
Management Information System (MIS). This should supply
data to the FM team about the operation of individual
facilities as well as providing information to highlight the
contribution being made by facilities management policies
to corporate objectives.
5.2 Operational reviews
and reporting
The facilities management information system provides the
FM team with two main information flows. The first relates
to the day to day management of the accommodation and
associated assets, which enable the ‘in the field’ teams to
carry out their tasks. The second is analytical information
needed to regularly report progress on the management of
the accommodation portfolio. These information flows are
needed whether the facilities team are in-house providers,
sub-contractors or a team dealing with all services through
a totally outsourced facilities management contract.
Focusing on the second information stream, the
management information system should generate reports
on at least two levels:
1. A high level report for senior managers demonstrating
the added value to the business of the facilities
management operation. This may be reported in
a Scorecard format relating to the objectives of
the organisation and highlighting where FM has
added value, perhaps, for example, in space
efficiency through good workplace planning or
improvements in sustainability targets through
reductions in energy used.
2. Operational reports comparing performance against
agreed metrics and for ease of presentation and
understanding, showing these in a dashboard format.
The reports should be backed up by location specific
reports on the performance at each facility against
budget, performance targets and showing occupier
feedback relating to satisfaction with services delivery.
rics.org
All reporting should provide performance trends over time
or in the case of external providers of services, during the
life of their contract. This will give the client and occupier
a view of supplier performance against all set targets over
a given timeline.
5.3 Technology for facilities
managers
Facilities managers are tasked with ensuring that the
accommodation portfolio effectively supports people and
activities by providing appropriate, quality serviced space
in line with the objectives of the organisation. Over the
years, facilities managers have used various means to
assist them in the task of managing mechanical services
in buildings and more recently, developments in digital
technology have provided new and exciting opportunities
to extend the range of control both within buildings and
the control of buildings remote from the managing team.
Increasingly, through the design stage of buildings, the
prospective accommodation is modelled to assess its
effectiveness to occupy, its efficiency to heat, cool and
light and to gauge whether the resultant environment will
stimulate innovation and productivity for its prospective
occupants.
These technologies benefit the facilities manager by
providing a predictive tool against which to measure
the building in operation, enabling the infrastructure to
be benchmarked against its virtual model, as servicing,
maintenance and refits are carried out.
5.4 Technology trends
(A glossary of terms is included in section 5.7)
FM teams are used to CAFM1 and IWMS2 systems, which
are useful in facilitating the delivery of services which
support operations. The trend is for the interoperability
of these pre-existing systems with GIS3, RFID4, building
control, security and other systems which enable the
facilities manager to remotely manage a facility.
In the workplace, the impact of gestural interfaces such
as Kinect5 will change the way occupiers operate. Cloud
computing6 enables access to corporate information
from anyplace, particularly applications like web-
based CAD7. Digital camera technology assists with,
for example, remote security and remote maintenance
inspections. RFID4 will track assets, enabling immediate
inventory updates, asset valuations and improved asset
security. BIM8 will lead to improved design, servicing
capability, more efficient workspaces and energy savings
through pre-delivery modelling and it is predicted that
Nanotechnology9 will eventually have a profound effect on
materials, servicing products, energy consumption and
much more. Motes10 provide the technology for remote
sensing of, among other things, workplace environments
while 5DBIM11 technologies offer the interoperability
RICS guidance note 43
 Strategic facilities management
of CAFM and BIM systems with time and cost data,
to produce the prospect of real time or predictive
management of space, equipment, utilities and working
environments.
Interoperability, as seen in the BIMStorm12 process
system, MS SharePoint13 and the Newforma14 suite
of products, points the way forward to systems which
integrate and operate together and can be adapted
by users to sit alongside their pre-existing systems.
More recent developments have seen a further advance of
BIM: 6DBIM15 which adds the Operating and Maintenance
Phase (that is facilities management) to the BIM process.
In the UK, the government sponsored HMG BIM Task
Group is working towards the universal adoption of 3DBIM
processes on all government building contracts from 2016.
Currently, the traditional property management
programmes and accounting systems do not link
seamlessly with the facilities-focused systems, but it
is to be hoped that the move to interoperability across
systems generally will be a development in the short term.
5.5 Technology in the workplace
Where is the workplace? For facilities managers the focus
is on both the built and virtual workplace but the balance
is ever-changing and supporting the increasingly mobile
workforce means an essential partnership must exist at
management level between FM, IT and HR managers in
order to support staff as, when and where they work.
The key to the mobility and productivity for staff is network
connectivity for any device and bandwidth availability to
support, for example, a video conference or the viewing
of data-rich design drawings. The adoption of wireless
networks in and around physical workplaces adds greatly
to employee mobility and connectivity.
For the facilities manager, the variability of numbers in
the workplace and the unpredictability of when staff
will be occupying desking space is a particular problem
which makes the sizing of office space a difficult task.
The use of sensing devices to register occupation enables
the tracking of occupation densities and BAS16 will
enable energy savings when defined sections of an office
building are unoccupied. Experience over time may allow
floor space to be released, thereby saving on overall
accommodation costs.
44 RICS guidance note
5.6 BIM for facilities managers
The speed with which BIM is developing suggests that it
will soon become a vital part of the facilities management
portfolio of aids – see 6DBIM16 at section 5.7 below. BIM
will facilitate the better management of life-cycle building
and space management requirements, which will include:
• Project delivery. The use of BIM templates can
greatly simplify project delivery, for example, where
buildings are refitted with similarly specified finishes
on all floors or a retailer is refitting a portfolio of
stores in a similar manner. The availability of project
information on line with the tracking of design
changes and delivery will increase the efficiency
of project management, improving completion
times and reducing delays.
• Space management. The 3D BIM formats make the
planning and subsequent management of space
much more efficient.
• Visualisation. The powerful 3D capabilities of BIM
and its capability to display potential and actual
changes over time (4DBIM) will facilitate work
scheduling, the tracing of design ‘clashes’,
change tracking and the training of facilities and
engineering personnel.
• The management of security and emergencies.
BIM will assist with the analysing and planning
for emergency management, escape routes and
capacities, blast zones and setbacks and the
management of CCTV zones, scope and viewing.
• Collection, analysis and display of data. BIM can
be used to collect, analyse and manage static
and real time data about how a building is operating,
what parts are occupied and enable the better
management of space, energy and facilities
team resources.
As previously mentioned, interoperability with pre-existing
FM systems is an imperative requirement for BIM and
once this is successfully delivered, the acceptance of
BIM by facilities teams should improve.
5.7 Glossary of technology terms
Ref 1
CAFM Computer Aided Facilities Management. Software
aiding the facilities manager in the maintenance and
management of accommodation and buildings. This
includes the capability to manage, plan and budget, project
manage, record condition inspections, maintenance,
utility usage and real estate management data.
Ref 2
IWMS The Integrated Workplace Management System
is software that integrates five key components,
operated from a single platform and database – real
estate management, project management, facilities
and space management, maintenance management,
and environmental sustainability.
 rics.org

Ref 3 Ref 9
GIS Geographic (geospatial) Information Systems are Nano technology Nano technology is the engineering of
designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage, functional systems at the molecular scale. Constructing or
and present all types of geographical based data. GIS reconstructing building materials opens up the prospect of
is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis and new materials with longer maintenance free lifecycles.
database technology. This enables the tracking and
tracing, for example, of assets around sites and buildings Ref 10
and the tracking of staff and vehicles in the course of
Motes Motes form an integral part of wireless sensor
their work.
networks (WSN), which are wireless networks consisting
of spatially distributed autonomous devices which
Ref 4
use sensors to co-operatively monitor physical and/or
RFID Radio Frequency Identification is a data collection environmental conditions – temperature, sound, vibration,
and tracking technology that uses electronic tags for pressure, motion or pollutants, at different locations so
storing data. The chip tag with an antenna is attached to providing remote information retrieval for the facilities
equipment or infrastructure and transmits data to a reader manager who may then respond by adjusting building
or to remote sensors. management systems to save energy or improve working
environments.
Ref 5
Ref 11
Kinect This is a motion sensing input device by Microsoft
based on a webcam-style device. It enables users to 5DBIM 5D BIM is an acronym for 5D Building
control and interact with hardware without the need to Information Modelling, which refers to the intelligent
touch screen or keyboard, through an interface using linking of individual 3D CAD components or assemblies
gestures and spoken commands. with time and cost-related information. The use of the
term 5D is intended to refer to the addition of fourth
Ref 6 dimension – time and fifth dimension – cost, to the 3D
model. The construction of the 5D models enables the
Cloud computing Cloud computing is the use of
various participants of a construction project – designers,
computing resources (mainly software) that are delivered
contractors, investors, FM managers – to visualise the
as a service over the Internet. Cloud computing entrusts
progression of construction activities and their related
remote services with the user’s data, software and
costs over time and the subsequent management of the
computation. However, it means that the user does not
completed building. BIM-centric project management is
need to be involved with software maintenance and
intended to improve the management and delivery of a
upgrades. Access to corporate resources stored
construction project of any size or complexity. It assists
‘in the cloud’ is available globally to authorised users
with the design and execution of the fit-out process and
from anyplace.
the subsequent management and maintenance of the
building. Over time, it will have a considerable effect on
Ref 7 facilities management operations.
CAD The well-known Computer Aided Design system
creates, modifies, analyses, or optimises a design. Ref 12
CAD software is used to increase the productivity
BIM Storm BIMStorm is a Cloud computing collaborative
of the designer, improve the quality of design and
process that leverages web-based BIM capabilities to
communications through digitising documentation and to
enable data sharing among multiple software programs
create a database for manufacturing building components.
including BIM software, GIS systems, Google Earth, Excel
CAD output is usually in the form of electronic files for print
and other sources, and even hand drawings. These online
or machining operations.
‘data swaps’ allow large amounts of business processes
to be substantially reduced in duration while improving
Ref 8 accuracy by not recreating data at each step of a project.
BIM Building Information Modelling is a process involving This is another technology with implications for the
the generation and management of digital representations facilities management sector.
of physical and functional characteristics of a facility in 3D
format. The resulting building information models become Ref 13
shared knowledge resources to support decision-making
MS Sharepoint Sharepoint uses the ‘cloud’ to easily
about a facility from the earliest conceptual stages, through
store, synchronise and share important content with
design and construction and through its operational life –
teams. This may vary from FM building/service information
hence the application to facilities management. BIM is used
to team management/HR information. The system will
extensively in design and construction but is equally useful
gather information from various locations and prioritise
in refurbishment and refits. Its application to FM situations
work tasks intuitively.
will develop as interoperability with existing FM systems is
better understood and accommodated.

RICS guidance note 45

 Strategic facilities management

Ref 14
Newforma Newforma Project Centre software is the
building and infrastructure industry’s most integrated
and comprehensive solution for managing all forms of
project information, whether at the office, from the cloud,
or on the move. It has easy web access and seamless
connectivity with other companies using Newforma
software.

Ref 15
6DBIM See BIM and 5DBIM above. 6DBIM includes
the ‘as built’ information about a project along with
building component, plant and fit-out information as
well as the operations and maintenance manuals (the
FM information), with warranty data, manufacturer’s
information and manuals. This database can be globally
accessible through a customised proprietary secure
web-based environment. The accuracy of 6DBIM aids
facilities managers in the operation and maintenance
of the facility throughout its life cycle.

Ref 16
BAS Building Automation System. A computerised
control system and intelligent network of electronic
sensors which monitor and control the mechanical and
lighting systems throughout a building, by zone.

5.8 Conclusion
The existing and new additions to the technology portfolio
will enable building and facilities managers to oversee
portfolios of buildings remotely and to keep track of items
of equipment and other assets with relative ease. The
same technology has the power to facilitate more flexible
working arrangements for many of the customers of
the facilities team. Their agile working patterns are very
difficult to predict and so present particular challenges
to facilities managers tasked to provide the right amount
of workspace at a competitive cost. The facilities sector
will need to decide how these technologies can be used
to enable the more efficient management of buildings
and thereby add value to the organisations they are
supporting.

Endnotes
Note 1: See HM Government Website re the BIM Task Force:
The Building Information Modelling (BIM) Task Group
are supporting and helping deliver the objectives of the
Government Construction Strategy and the requirement to
strengthen the public sector’s capability in BIM implementation,
with the aim that all central government departments will be
adopting, as a minimum, collaborative Level 2 BIM by 2016.
http://www.bimtaskgroup.org

Note 2: See also the RICS Facilities Management Data and Information
Paper www.rics.org/global//facilities_management_
information_and_data_management_dwl.pdf

46 RICS guidance note


Part 3. Appendices
Appendix 1 Facilities
Management: origins,
definitions, competencies,
standards
Overview
The origins of facility/facilities management in
the 1970s and 1980s are traced together with
the formation of the national and global FM
groupings and professional bodies. The various
definitions of facilities management and the
competencies required by facilities managers
are analysed.
1.1 Introduction
The management of facilities is an increasingly complex
operation and requires technical expertise and experience
which most facilities managers will be in a position to
handle. What is further required of facilities managers is
much more than technical skills – it is to understand the
productivity effects of working environments on occupiers,
workstyle flexibility, computing and mobile technologies,
strategic business planning and, sometimes, the value and
marketability of the facilities being managed.
It is instructive to look at how facilities management has
developed over the last 40 years and it is not surprising to
discover that the origins have much to do with the inferior
placement found in corporate structures today. The difficulty
of defining what facilities management means has added
to the confusion both within and outside the sector and
poor ‘marketing’ and communication in the early years have
probably held back the development of the whole
FM profession.
However, despite this inauspicious start, the profession of
facilities management now occupies a prominent position in
the real estate sector. This has much to do with the excellent
work of the FM organisations, particularly BIFM, FMA, FMA
Australia, Global FM1 and IFMA, as well as that of the RICS
Facilities Management Group.
rics.org
1.2 The origins of FM
The origins of facility and facilities management date back
to the US in the 1970s when out of the ‘maintenance,
servicing and cleaning’ role, which was the building
caretaker’s domain, emerged managers to oversee these
roles as well as managing leasing and workplace design for
the fast growing accommodation portfolios of businesses
in the telecomms, banking and media sectors. This ‘facility
manager’ role contrasted with the ‘facilities management’
operation, which at this time was a collective term for an
external company managing the outsourced non-core
administrative operations of a larger organisation.
The 1980s was a decade of rapid growth. IFMA was
formed in the US and later in the UK, AFM and IFM were
formed, subsequently merging to become BIFM in 1993. In
1988, FMA Australia was formed and similarly a European
network of academics, users and associations – Euro FM
was formed.
In the UK in the late 1980s, Frank Duffy promoted many
of the US office design principles proposing that ‘facilities
management is an essential part of the development of
a new vision in the design of a new kind of architecture’.
At about the same time in the US, Franklin Becker was
developing concepts of organisational structures and
calling for the embryo FM sector to understand the
patterns of organisations described as ‘shared patterns of
thought, belief, feelings and values that result from shared
experiences and common learning’. While this advanced
thinking may have been a step too far for the FM and real
estate industries at the time, in retrospect much of the
theories of that time have appeared in FM-related research
in more recent years.
FM associations and groups have been formed across
most European countries and in Japan, Singapore, South
Africa, UAE and Brazil, so that the FM ‘movement’ is now
truly global. As a result, there is a widening understanding
of the contribution FM makes to occupational efficiency
and productivity in different regions, with the profession at
different stages of development in each country.
The expansion of FM-related associations has been
accompanied by a proliferation of training and qualifications
at all levels, to meet the growing demand for well qualified
facilities management professionals. Across the world,
there are a number of university-related courses which offer
FM degree/master status qualifications and alongside those
are the variety of courses and qualifications run by the FM
bodies, which provide focused technical and professional
qualifications.
RICS guidance note 47
 Strategic facilities management
1.3 Definitions of facilities
management
It may seem surprising that there is little unanimity about
the definition of facilities management. While this is
frustrating for some in the sector, a brief analysis of the
definitions used by the professional groups and others
provides an opportunity to investigate the different
perspectives from which facilities management is viewed.
But first, is it facility or facilities management? In the US,
Australia and some European countries, the profession
is known as facility management – which suggests the
management of a facility being perhaps a hospital or
office estate. Elsewhere, the term is facilities management
which includes a wider range of activities, described in this
guidance, as a whole infrastructure or business support
management service.
At the time of its establishment in 1983, the International
Facility Management Association (IFMA) definition was:
Facility management is the practice of coordinating the
physical workplace with the people and the work of the
organisation. It integrates the principles of business
administration, architecture, and the behavioural and
engineering sciences.
In 2003 IFMA adopted a revised definition of facility
management as follows:
Facility management is a profession that encompasses
multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built
environment by integrating people, place, process and
technology.
The Facility Management Association of Australia adopted
what appears to be a community focused definition:
Facilities management involves the management,
operation and maintenance of buildings, precincts and
community infrastructure. In all cities and regional areas
facilities management provides safe, healthy, productive
environments, protecting the wellbeing of the Australian
community.
The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) defines
facilities management in organisational terms following the
wording of the European Committee for Standardisation
and ratified by British Standards (BSI),
as follows:
Facilities management is the integration of processes
within an organisation to maintain and develop the
agreed services which support and improve the
effectiveness of its primary activities.
48 RICS guidance note
The Institute also uses an alternative version:
Facilities management is the integration of multi-
disciplinary activities within the built environment
and the management of their impact upon people
and the workplace.
The National Standards bodies under the auspices of
the CEN Organisation (the European Committee for
Standardisation), to which almost all European states
belong, initiated the European Standard series: EN15221
Facility Management, in which facility management is
defined as:
The integration of processes within an organisation to
maintain and develop the agreed services which support
and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities.
FM is further explained as:
The basic concept of Facility Management is to provide
integrated management on a strategic and tactical
level to coordinate the provision of the agreed support
services (facility services). This requires specific
competencies and distinguishes Facility Management
from the isolated provision of one or more services.
(EN 15221-1, paragraph 3).
In this RICS guidance, the definition used for facilities
management is:
The effective management of place and space,
integrating an organisation’s support infrastructure to
deliver services to staff and customers at best value
whilst enhancing overall organisational performance.
In summary, facility or facilities management creates
an environment that supports corporate operations,
integrating the organisation’s service infrastructure to
deliver satisfaction to staff and customers at best value
and optimising productivity to the organisation. So facilities
management operations will:
• provide flexible, well maintained and serviced
accommodation and supportive technology
• enhance customer experience and enable the
efficient delivery of products and services; and
• enhance the organisation’s brands, image and
financial performance.
The number of definitions or explanations of facilities
management highlights the diversity across the sector.
The reality is that what is involved in facilities management
varies from organisation to organisation, supplier to supplier
and country to country. The definitions will change over
time as conventions change, additional responsibilities
are added and others are subtracted from the role of the
facilities manager. The dynamism and variety of facilities
management is one of its attractions as a career.
 rics.org

1.4 What facilities managers do
and the essential competencies
In 2011, the CEN Organisation published facilities
management standard BS EN 15221-4 Taxonomy, as part
of a series of seven FM related published standards, which
offers a definition of ‘Facilities Products’ under the two
categories of ‘Space and Infrastructure’ and ‘People and
Organisation’ and together contains 121 headings and sub
headings that attempt to define the activities and services
that are delivered through a facilities management regime.
A much simplified schedule highlighting the principal
responsibilities of facilities managers is shown at Fig A1
(1), approximately divided into Services and Management
categories. The roles apply equally to private and public
sector facilities managers, although the responsibilities
will vary dependant on position, in the client side or supply
side role.
Note: The real estate role will be carried out by a specialist
in-house team where one exists.
In 2009, IFMA carried out a global survey of facilities
managers across 62 countries, which resulted in the
creation of a global task analysis of the facilities function.
This generated the following 11 competencies, which
greatly assist the understanding of the scope of the facilities
manager’s role. An important omission here is that of
Legislative and Regulatory awareness and compliance.

Fig A1 (1) : What facilities managers do

Services Management Real estate

Catering, Hospitality, Cafe
Cleaning, Internal and external,
Pest control
Documents, Copying, Archiving,
Printing, Scanning, Shredding
Front of House, Concierge,
Conferencing, Help desk, Reception,
Switchboard
Logistics, Vehicles, Consumable
supplies
Maintenance, Fabric, Landscaping
M&E, Air con., Fire alarms, Lifts,
Lighting, UPS systems
Security, Access control, Alarms,
CCTV, Asset tagging, Information
security, Security sweeps
Staff welfare, Crèche, Gym,
Medical Centre, Sports facilities,
Staff shop
Telecomms, Mobiles
Utility supplies, Water treatment
Waste management
Workplace, Space allocation, Churn,
Hot desking
Administration, Asset registers, Occupational and Financial Strategy
records, archives
Asset Strategy and Management
Business continuity, Disaster
recovery, Crisis management Transactions
Compliance, Accreditation, Legislation, Capital Projects
Policy, Regulation Business Agility
Contract Management, Specification, Leasehold Management
Tenders, Project management
Operating Cost Management
Corporate Social Responsibility,
Energy, Carbon, Waste, Work-life
balance, Sustainability
Customers, Relationship management,
Complaint handling
Finance, Accounts, Budgets,
Business cases
FM Team, Management, Training,
Recruitment
ICT, BMS, Cable management,
CAD, CAFM
Networking, linkage with internal
& external customers
Performance management,
Staff surveys, Benchmarking
Procurement, Services, Utilities,
Supplies

Risk, Business continuity,

Environmental, Heath and Safety,
Insurance

Strategy, Business plan, FM vision,

Mission & Objectives

Workplace, Design, Workstyle, Flexible

working, Furniture

RICS guidance note 49

 Strategic facilities management
1.4.1 Real estate management and strategy
This competence falls to the facilities manager where
there is no real estate function in the organisation. Where
the function does exist, it is essential that the facilities
and real estate teams work in partnership to deliver the
accommodation strategy and maintained and serviced
workspace.
The task involves the alignment of accommodation and
business strategies and the allocation of appropriate
accommodation assets to meet operational business
plans. The management of projects, preparation of
business cases, real estate asset management, leasing
and transactional management are all part of this overall
competency.
1.4.2 Accommodation operations and
maintenance
This is essentially the ‘hard’ and ‘soft FM’ operation
involving the planned and managed preventative
maintenance of the accommodation portfolio, maintaining
building services and systems, landscaping and upgrading,
designing and redesigning workplaces. This will include
linkage with IT specialists to create optimum working
environments. The cleaning and catering services, along
with many others, are also included (see references in
‘Key terms’ at Appendix 3).
1.4.3 Project management
Many of the operations previously described will involve
projects of various sizes and so will require design and
programming, procurement and management as works
proceed, as well as move management and relocations.
This competence is important in the delivery of quality
services to the organisation.
1.4.4 Finance and business
The facilities manager is called upon to manage operating
costs and capital budgets and control the bottom line
finances for the accommodation portfolio. It is also an
imperative to understand how FM decisions will impact
both financially and operationally across the organisation.
The ability to construct business cases, and to analyse and
audit costs to avoid waste and reduce overheads, without
compromising quality, is part of the key competence.
To reiterate, the activities under the control of the facilities
manager often represent the second highest overhead
of an organisation. Good financial skills and budget
management are, therefore, a pre-requisite to success
in the role.
1.4.5 Quality
The quality of facilities services is vital to the delivery of a
fully supportive operation. The ability to deliver and maintain
standards at an affordable cost will depend on establishing
quality assurance and performance measurement systems.
The benchmarking of the facilities function, together with
the regular assessment of customer experience, are
essential features of facilities delivery improvement.
50 RICS guidance note
1.4.6 Technology (ICT)
An understanding of, and interest in, ICT and related issues
is essential for the facilities manager. ICT is a vital tool in
the management of the facilities function and is a key to
the success of the organisation as a whole. The integration
of ICT, workspace design, flexible workstyles and flexible
work delivery styles (in conjunction with HR specialists) are
operational imperatives for the organisation and, therefore,
for the facilities manager.
1.4.7 Human resources (HR)
It is fundamental for the facilities manager to understand
the issues of productive workspace and layouts from an
occupier/user perspective, along with the ergonomics of
workstations, health and safety, security of staff and visitors
and the HR, contract, workstyle, workplace implications
of flexible employment contracts. Understanding and
accommodating the requirements of a modern flexible
workplace, including the organisation, health and safety,
regulatory and legislative environment are equally as
important as delivering technical and process related
services.
1.4.8 Business continuity and risk
The need to identify, document, plan and execute a
continuity plan based on a cross-organisation risk
assessment is a long standing requirement for the facilities
manager. This competence includes having an FM
continuity plan and the processes, resources and back
up in place to manage service loss and restoration in any
circumstances. In some sectors, this competence includes
the establishment and management of accommodation
which can be ‘fired-up’ and occupied should principal
locations become unusable.
1.4.9 Sustainability
The facilities manager should have regard to the regulatory
and legislative backdrop regarding sustainability when
advising on the acquisition of buildings and in the setting
of servicing plans along with the organisation’s in-house
strategy on environmental and sustainability issues.
The facilities team will be expected to mitigate, as far
as possible, the negative environmental impacts of the
organisation’s portfolio of accommodation using technical
solutions and management techniques, which will improve
the working environment of occupiers and minimise the
environmental impact of the accommodation.
1.4.10 Leadership and change management
Much more than technical skill is needed to deliver the
organisation-wide accommodation and servicing strategies
demanded by large organisations. The facilities professional
should be prepared to lead, influence, motivate and
manage people throughout the organisation at all levels.
In addition, the change management that is required to
move the organisation forward may well be workstyle or
accommodation led, so the facilities manager needs these
skills to gain agreement and cooperation from others.
 rics.org

1.4.11 Communication BS EN 15221-5 Guidance on Facilities Management

The facilities manager must be a good communicator,
successfully putting the strategy and business case
message across, persuading, negotiating and influencing
everyone throughout the organisation as well as external
suppliers and consultants. Successfully ‘selling’ the benefits
of the occupational and service offering will be a large part
of the delivery of supportive business space.
1.4.12 RICS competencies
RICS publishes a Facilities Management Core Competency
Guide as part of the documentation for the test of
Professional Competence in Facilities Management1.
These are in the process of being updated but the present
document set offers direction and insight into what is
expected of facilities management professionals.
RICS produces guidance and information papers and
details of these appear in the Further Reading section.
It is for individual members to check the nature of
these guidance publications, which may be mandatory
or advisory, and become familiar with the Institution’s
requirements as to the exact meaning of each document
classification.
Processes
BS EN 15221-6 Area and Space Measurement in Facilities
Management
BS EN 15221-7 Guidelines for Performance Benchmarking
in Facilities Management.
These standards have pan European application and
while not having global ‘reach’, are certainly used as the
basis for producing standards elsewhere. While standards
are in the main voluntary in terms of compliance, they do
form the basis of governmental and legal assessments
in appropriate circumstances. They also form part of the
considerable amount of information which is available to
facilities managers to assist with the wide variety of duties
they are called upon to perform.
Endnotes
Note 1 A copy of this document Facilities Management – Assessment
of Competence, can be viewed at: http://www.rics.org/Global/
pathway_guide_facilities_management_dwl_pt.pdf

Facilities managers are recommended to study these

publications and the plethora of information available
on the subject of professional and practice standards.
While much may be irrelevant to their particular operations
or present role, the principles described will provide a
good baseline from which to plan their on-going facilities
service operations.

1.5 The development of

standards for facilities
management
The development of standards in facilities management
began in 2004 when a European initiative was launched to
develop facilities management as a professional discipline.
BIFM has been at the forefront of this initiative through
their involvement within the BSI Facilities Management
Committee and representation at European level with the
Technical Committee. In 2006, the first two standards were
published and, subsequently, further standards have been
accepted so that the current listing is as follows:

BS EN 15221-1 Facilities Management: terms and

definitions

BS EN 15221-2 Guidance on How to Prepare Facility

Management Agreements

BS EN 15221-3 Guidance on Quality in Facilities

Management

BS EN 15221-4 Taxonomy, Classification and Structures

in Facilities Management

RICS guidance note 51

 Strategic facilities management
Appendix 2 Abbreviations
AACS Automated access control systems
AEC Architecture, engineering and construction
AM Account manager (See also CRM)
B2B Business to business
B2C Business to customer
BCMS Business continuity management system
BCP Business continuity plan
BIA Business impact analysis
BIFM British Institute of Facilities Management
BIM Building information modelling; see also
5DBIM, 6DBIM and BIMStorm at Part 2, Para
5.7, page 45 onwards.
BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method
CAD Computer aided design
CAFM Computer aided facilities management
CEM Critical environment management
CIBSE Chartered Institution of Building Services
Engineers
CSSA Cleaning & Support Services Association
CDM  onstruction (Design and Management)
C IFRS International financial reporting standard
Regulations 2007
CIOB Chartered Institute of Building
CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance and
Accountancy
CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply
CLG Department for Communities and Local
Government
COPROP Association of Chief Corporate Property
Officers
COSHH  ontrol of Substances Hazardous to Health
C NAO National Audit Office
Regulations 2002
CPAMG Corporate Property Asset Management Group
CPD Continuing professional development
CPNI Centre for the Protection of National
Infrastructure
CRE (M) Corporate real estate (management)
CRM Customer relationship manager (see also AM)
CSR Corporate social responsibility
CTM Counter terrorism measures
DCFM Data centre facilities management
DCLG Department for Communities and Local
Government (now CLG)
52 RICS guidance note
DDA  isability Discrimination Act now replaced by
D
the Equality Act 2010
EuroFM A Europe-wide alliance of FM organisations
FM Facilities Management (Manager(s))
FMA Facility Management Association of Australia
FMA Facilities Management Association – the trade
association representing FM
GlobalFM A worldwide alliance of member-centred facility
management organisations
GIS Geographic information system
GPS Global positioning system
HefmA The Health Estates Facilities Management
Association representing estates and facilities
professionals operating within the NHS
HOSDB Home Office Scientific Development Branch
HR Human Resources (department)
HSE Health and Safety Executive
HVAC Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
ICF/ICU Informed (or intelligent) client function or unit
ICT (IT) Information and communication technology
IDS Intruder detection system
IFMA International Facility Management Association
ISO International Organisation for Standardisation
ISO 9001 International Organisation for Standardisation,
Standard 9001 (Quality Management)
ISO 14001 Standard for Environmental Management
IWMS Integrated workplace management system
KPIs Key performance indicators
M&E Mechanical and electrical
MIS Management Information System
NEBOSH National Examinations Board in Occupational
Safety and Health
OGC Office of Government Commerce – now part of
HMG Cabinet Office
OJEC Official Journal of the European Union
PAM Property asset management (also real estate
asset management)
PIDS Perimeter intruder detection system
PFI/PPP Private finance initiative/public private
partnership
PPM Planned preventative maintenance
 rics.org

QA Quality assurance
RICS Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
RFID Radio frequency identification
RIDDOR R
 eporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 1995
SLA(s) Service level agreement(s)
SSC Sector Skills Council
TFM Total facilities management
TUPE  ransfer of Undertakings (Protection of
T
Employment) Regulations 2006
UPS Uninterrupted power supply system

RICS guidance note 53

 Strategic facilities management

Appendix 3 Key terms Business

In this guidance the term is used to describe the organisation
Asset management and/or its operational activities, be it a retailer or a health
centre, a call centre or a factory. It includes private, public
The process for maintaining, upgrading and operating and third sector organisations.
assets (both real estate and other assets required to
operate/occupy buildings), combining engineering Business case
principles with sound business practice. A close relation
to facilities management (see also property asset A business case is a systematic analysis of the benefits
management). and dis-benefits (financial and non-financial) of a project,
compared with continuing with the current situation.
Asset register
Business continuity plan
A listing of an organisation’s assets (real estate and all
other assets) owned or leased, with full information on The process by which an organisation plans to deal with
each asset – sometimes called an asset inventory. emergency incidents which threaten the continuance of
operations.
Audit (internal)
Business drivers
The verification of practices, processes, plans and
decision-making procedures, with the aim of improving The major business imperatives that drive a business – they
efficiency and effectiveness. are all likely to be articulated in an organisation’s mission,
vision and values, and in its goals, objectives and plans.
Balanced scorecard
Business lines
A methodology for holistically measuring performance
originally developed by Kaplan and Norton and since See ‘Operating unit’
developed further by Kaplan and Norton and others.
Business operations
Benchmark See ‘Operational’
A comparison of relative performance (generally
between similar organisations), by the use of recognised Business planning
performance indicators, or a set of performance
The process by which an organisation puts its mission,
indicators.
vision, values, goals and objectives into effect, resulting in
implementation and delivery plans.
Big data
A collection of data sets so large and complex that it Business process
becomes difficult to process using database management
Any formal process used by an organisation to run its affairs.
tools and traditional data processing applications.
Effective and efficient management of the ‘data mountain’
Business strategy
will provide enterprises with competitive advantage.
The medium and longer term aspirations of the organisation,
BREEAM articulated in a written document. It will form an integral part
of business planning and will be accompanied by short term
The Building Research Establishment Environmental
tactical plans, for example, annual business plans.
Assessment Method – in the UK, the most widely
accepted methodology for the appraisal of the
Capability
environmental impact of building design. In other countries
LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – The availability of all the skills needed to run an organisation.
provides building owners and operators with a framework
for identifying and implementing practical and measurable Capacity
green building design, construction, operations and
The resources needed (often human resources) to run an
maintenance solutions.
organisation.
Building services
Capital expenditure and income
Mechanical and electrical installations including air
One-off expenditure on major items (e.g. land and property),
conditioning and heating, electrical and ventilation, power,
often, but not always, funded by borrowing, with recurring
elevators, lighting, security systems and communications.
expenditure implications. Capital income is generally known
These are the services which ‘bring a building to life’.
as a capital receipt, often resulting from the disposal of
real estate.

54 RICS guidance note


Capital planning
The overall capital requirements of an organisation,
normally arranged over a series of forthcoming years, which
includes as a major part of the capital strategy, the capital
requirements of accommodation and workplace projects
and the funding sources to meet those requirements.
Change management
The management of all types of change within an
organisation.
Client side
In the provision of any services, there will be a need for the
organisation to articulate its requirements as the ‘client’ for
the provision of services. A ‘client-side’ facilities manager is
usually a member of staff or sometimes a consultant acting
in this capacity.
Contract management
The organised management of the contractual provision of
a service or function, which is the subject of a contractual
arrangement.
Core service support team
These are the central organisation support services,
being facilities management, finance, human resources,
information and communication technology, procurement,
and real estate – sometimes referred to as ‘non-
core’ activities but key to the efficient operation of the
organisation.
Corporate
An organisation acting as a whole, rather than in its
constituent parts.
Data management
The organised management of numeric and other data and
information (see ‘Big data’).
Delivery department
A department that delivers a service – this term is
associated with the terms delivery performance, delivery
level, delivery experience, delivery metrics.
Facility
An environment built, installed or established to serve an
organisation in the delivery of its operational objective.
This is also a generic term to describe a specific building,
a group of buildings on the same site and/or a site itself,
which is used to provide an overall function; for example,
a school, a research establishment, a hospital complex, a
training complex, a university campus.
Facility management
A term used interchangeably (in some geographies), with
facilities management.
rics.org
Financial modelling
The holistic analysis of the financial consequences of
a course of action.
Flexible working
A generic term used to describe the ways in which staff
work when they are not all in one place of work at all times.
It normally involves remote (i.e. outside of the normal
workplace) access to information and communication
technology. It may include home working, peripatetic
working, desk sharing, ‘hot desking’, and open plan
workplace layouts. It is generally used to improve
productivity, staff motivation and retention and is
normally associated with accommodation cost savings.
Framework agreements
Agreements for the provision of services with a limited group
of suppliers; almost always selected on a competitive basis
initially. When services are required by the client, they are
sourced from one of these suppliers on a basis already
prescribed in the framework agreement.
Hard FM Services
Facilities services which focus on managing the maintenance
of the building fabric, heating, ventilation and lighting
maintenance, ICT infrastructure, fit-out and often waste
management.
Helpdesk
A point of contact, usually with a service supplier, to report
faults or seek alterations to supplied services. This may be a
call centre, an on-line service, or both.
Information management
The organised management of data and information within
an organisation.
In-house
The provision of services by an organisation utilising its
own staff.
Input specification
A specification for the provision of services, which expresses
its requirement in terms of the inputs the supplier must make.
It is normally associated with the process that the supplier is
expected to adopt in delivering the service. See also ‘Output
based’.
Informed /intelligent client
This describes the ability of the organisation to clearly and
succinctly articulate its requirements in terms of the provision
of services. It is an essential concept to provide in-house
expertise to oversee the procurement of contracted-out
services and the informed oversight of the performance
of the resulting service delivery. This function can also be
outsourced if the service is to be provided by a consultant
who knows the client‘s business and requirements very well.
RICS guidance note 55
 Strategic facilities management
Interoperability
The seamless inter-working of different software applications.
Key decision makers
These are the senior managers in an organisation. Typically,
they would be board members and top management team
members.
Maintenance backlog
The cost of works necessary to bring all accommodation
in a portfolio up to good condition.
Mechanical and electrical engineering services
(M&E)
The air conditioning, heating, ventilation, lighting and allied
services in a building.
Metrics
Parameters or measures of assessment used for
measurement, comparison, or to track performance –
in this guidance, the performance of service providers
or of buildings. A performance metric is a measure of
an organisation’s activities and performance. See also
‘Performance indicators’.
Mission
This is the overall purpose of an organisation – the reason
why it exists.
Net present costs and values
The sum of a series of future costs and/or values discounted
to reflect the future dates at which they occur. This will give
the net present cost/value.
Occupational strategies
The organisation’s approach to providing accommodation
that it wishes to occupy.
Open Book
The transparent exchange of information – usually financial
(costs) between the client and the supplier of services.
Operating costs
The total costs of operating a building or portfolio. Inter alia,
it would include maintenance, energy, rates, service charges
and the facilities management provision.
Operating unit
The various parts of an organisation which deliver elements
of its goods or services, or which enable those goods or
services to be delivered. It might also be referred to as a
business unit.
56 RICS guidance note
Operational
Those aspects of the organisation which are directly related
to the provision of its services. They are sometimes referred
to as ‘front line’ operations or ‘business lines’. Thus any
accommodation assets that are directly connected would
be operational assets.
Operational areas
Those areas or parts of the organisation that are directly
involved in ‘operational’ activities.
Operational objectives
The objectives of ‘operational areas’, which while within the
overall ambit of the organisation’s ‘corporate’ objectives,
will be more specific and narrow, generally solely related
to the provision of the service concerned.
Organisation
A corporate grouping which operates for a collective goal.
Organisational
A term used to indicate an ‘organisation’ acting
corporately or to describe cross-organisation features
(e.g. organisational change, organisational culture, and
organisational databases).
Organisational objectives
The objectives of the ‘organisation’ as a whole.
Organisational performance
The performance of the organisation measured in terms of
its ‘organisational objectives’.
Outcomes
The actual result of a course of action rather than the
intended results – these are normally associated with the
results that the ‘organisation’ achieves in delivering its
services. In the public sector they are referred to as public
service outcomes.
Output based
A focus on the outputs that are to be expected (from a
contract for services), or have already been achieved.
Outputs describe the physical manifestations of the service
to be supplied. It should not be confused with ‘Outcomes’.
See also ‘Input specification’.
Outsourced
Using a supplier outside the organisation to undertake a
service on behalf of the organisation.
Partnership
Working together with another organisation to achieve an
agreed goal.

Performance indicators
Measures that are used to judge performance. There may
be a wide range of measures over many subject areas
or there may be a number of different measures for one
subject area. The critical ones are called key performance
measures/indicators. See also ‘Metrics’.
Performance management
The organised management of performance, including
measures, performance data, measurement, reporting and
improvement.
Planned and reactive maintenance
There are two types of property maintenance – planned,
which is undertaken as part of an on-going plan (e.g.
regular redecoration), and reactive, which is a reaction to a
maintenance problem that has arisen (e.g. a burst pipe). It
should be noted that there is clearly a relationship between
the two – the less planned maintenance that is undertaken,
the more reactive maintenance will arise.
Power security
A measure of the reliability of the power (or other utility)
supplies to a facility.
Project and programme management
The organised management of projects and programmes
of projects.
Property asset management
The process which aligns business and property asset
strategies, ensuring the optimisation of an organisation’s
property assets in a way which best supports its key
business goals and objectives.
Property asset management plan
A business planning and communication document
providing operational, financial and quality ‘readings’ for
all those associated with the organisation. It considers
property as just one of the many corporate resources which
are needed to deliver services to customers.
Property management
This is the activity that ensures that land and buildings
matters are dealt with so that they operate efficiently and
effectively. It is the undertaking of professional/technical
work necessary to ensure that property is in the condition
desired, in the form, layout and location desired, and
supplied with the services required. Related activities
include the disposal of surplus property, the construction or
acquisition of new property, the valuation of property, and
dealing with landlord and tenant and rating matters, all at an
optimum and affordable cost.
rics.org
Quality management system
A quality management system (QMS) is the organisational
structure, procedures, processes and resources needed
to implement quality management. It is closely associated
with the ISO quality standard and the quality management
system standards.
Remote working
See ‘Flexible working’ of which ‘Remote working’ is a part.
Risk management
The organised management of the consequences of risks
identified by an organisation.
Risk management plan
The plan for risk management. The minimisation, as far as
possible, of risks and the preparedness for risks.
Risk register
A document that lists identified risks, their magnitude and
likelihood of occurrence, and the measures to be taken to
manage and minimise them, together with the responsibility
for those measures.
Risk transfer
The organised and explicit transfer of the risks of an
organisation to another party, normally as part of a contract
to provide outsourced services. It should be noted that not
all risks can be transferred and that any organisation will
always bear some risk. Therefore, the real transfer of risk is
difficult to achieve and sometimes can be illusory.
Sensitivity analysis
The adjustment of variables (normally in a business case) to
judge the effect if incorrect assumptions have been made
about the values of those variables. Hence, adjusting the
discount rate to see the comparative effect on the selected
options will expose how ‘sensitive’ the results of the option
appraisal may be to incorrect assumptions about the
discount rate to be used.
Service delivery
The delivery of a service (e.g. higher education), or the
delivery of an internal service within an organisation
(e.g. ICT support).
Service level agreement (SLA)
A document specifying the method, timing and quality of
delivery of services, and the methodology for measuring
performance.
Service provider
An organisation providing (real estate or facilities)
services, usually under the terms of a supply or
consultancy agreement.
RICS guidance note 57
 Strategic facilities management

Service specification Vision

A document describing what a specified service will be;
see ‘input’ and ‘output’ based.
Soft FM
Soft facilities management are services that ensure staff
work in a safe, clean and productive environment. Services
may include cleaning, ground maintenance, restaurant,
security and sometimes waste management. These
services are often outsourced.
Here the word is used in the context of business or
organisational vision. It is where the organisation aspires
to be (e.g. ‘to be the most effective in the sector’).
Whole life costing
The identification of whole life costs – the cost of
acquisition, of operations, and of maintaining the
property over its whole life through to its disposal
– that is, the total ownership costs.

Sourcing Workplace productivity (effectiveness)

The process by which the provision of the work involved The extent to which the working environment (usually in
in providing services or goods is sourced. This may be in- the office), contributes to the productivity of the occupiers.
house, outsourced, in partnership or shared with a similar A measure of this will indicate the effectiveness of the
organisation. workplace.

Stakeholder
All those that have a direct or indirect legitimate interest in
the use of the organisation’s land or buildings.

Strategic
A generic term generally used to describe a purposeful
way in which high level aims and objectives are pursued.

Supply side
A term applied to the external service providers, supplying
the outsourced needs of organisations for facilities services.

Third sector
The third sector is formed by all those organisations that
are not-for-profit and non-government, together with the
activities of volunteering and giving which sustain them.
These organisations are a major component of
the provision of services to the public.

Total facilities management (TFM)

A single supplier taking responsibility for the delivery of
all facilities services. In practice, this may be a supplier
managing services being delivered by a number of
subcontractors.

TUPE – Transfer of Undertakings

(Protection of Employment) Regulations
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
Regulations protect employees’ terms and conditions
of employment when a business is transferred from one
owner to another.

Users
Those who are in any way users of accommodation or
facilities services.

58 RICS guidance note


Appendix 4 Further reading
A – Z of Facilities and Property Management (Third
Edition), Martin D., Thorogood, 2012
A conceptual framework of CREM performance
measurement tools Lindholm A. L. and Nenonen S.,
2006 Access the document at: http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2008/
isbn9789512293605/article4.pdf
A framework for identifying and measuring value added
by corporate real estate, Lindholm A. L. and Nenonen S.,
2006 Access the document at: www.fig.net/pub/fig2006/
papers/ts46/ts46_05_lindholm_levainen_0868.pdf
A guide to green real estate, Allen & Overy LLP, 2009
Access the document at: www.allenovery.com/AOWeb/
binaries/53237.PDF
Achieving Excellence in Construction: a series of OGC
papers and case studies on topics including:
• partnering
• the development of long-term relationships
• reduction of financial and decision-making approval
chains
• improved skills development and empowerment
• the adoption of performance measurement
indicators; and
• the use of tools for value and risk management and
whole life costing.
Access these documents at: www.ogc.gov.uk/ppm_
documents_construction.asp
Acting on Facts: Using Performance Measurement to
Improve Local Authority Services, AC., 2002
Asset Management, Government of Western Australia
Access to a portfolio of documents at: www.treasury.
wa.gov.au/cms/search.aspx?searchtext=assetmanageme
nt&folderid=0&searchfor=all&orderby=id&orderdirection=
ascending
Asset Management in the Victorian Public Sector,
State of Victoria Government Access to a portfolio of
documents at: www.dtf.vic.gov.au/CA25713E0002EF43/
pages/asset-management-in-the-victorian-public-sector
Asset Management of Local Authority Land and Buildings:
Good Practice Guidelines, DETR, 2000
Access to this and a portfolio of DETR and other
departmental documents about property asset
management: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.
uk/20081205143343/http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/
finance/capital/assetmanagement.htm
Asset Planning for Buildings, Queensland Government,
Brisbane, 2009 Access document at: www.works.qld.
gov.au/downloads/bpu/samf_apb.pdf
rics.org
Better Estate Management in local government, DCLG,
2011 Access report on document at: www.pfmonthenet.
net/featuresarchive/article.aspx?ArticleID=39475
Better Management Practice, a series of government-
sponsored papers and case studies on topics including:
• PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2®) –
for project management
• Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) –
for programme management
• Management of Risk (M_o_R®) – for risk
management (www.mor-officialsite.com)
• IT Service Management (ITIL®) – for IT service
management
• Management of Portfolios (MoP™) – for portfolio
management
• Management of Value (MoV™) – for value
management
• Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O®)
• Portfolio, programme and project management
maturity model (P3M3®)
Access these documents at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
resource-library/best-management-practice-bmp-portfolio
Better Measurement, Better Management, OGC, 2006
Access to document at: www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/
cp0134.pdf
BIFM Good Practice Guides available at: www/bifm.
org.uk: Vacant Property Management, Procuring and
Running Catering Contracts, Procuring and Running
Cleaning Contracts, Inclusive Access, Disability and the
Equality Act, FM Procurement, Security Management,
Procuring and Running Guarding Contracts, Implementing
a Sustainability Policy, Commercial Removals, Customer
Care, Risk Management, Business Continuity, Recycling
and Waste Management, Benchmarking, Space Planning
and Management.
Building on Strong Foundations: A framework for local
authority asset management, DCLG, 2008 Access to this
document at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/
localgovernment/assetmanagement
Building Sustainability in the Balance, Sayce, S., Walker A.
and McIntosh A., Estates Gazette, 2004
Business Continuity Management (Third Edition), Hiles A.,
Wiley, 2011
Capital and Assets Pathfinder programme, DCLG, 2010
Access reports at: www.communities.gov.uk/
localgovernment/decentralisation/capitalassets
Change Management in a Week, Bourne M. and Bourne
P., Chartered Management Institute, Hodder and
Stoughton, 2002
CIPFA Capital Accounting Review: Interim Position, 2002
Access to document at: www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/download/
projectbrief.pdf
RICS guidance note 59
 Strategic facilities management
Closing the Loop – Benchmarks for sustainable buildings,
Roaf S., Steven Cross, 2004
Competence and Competency Frameworks,
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Access to these documents at: www.cipd.co.uk/
hr-resources/factsheets/competence-competency-
frameworks.aspx
Contemporary Strategy Analysis (Fifth edition), Grant R.,
Blackwell Publishing, 2005 www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/
perfmangmt/competnces
Core Competency Framework, I&DeA, available at
www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6055695
Corporate Occupier’s Handbook, Cooke H., and
Woodhead S., Estates Gazette, 2007
Corporate Property Management – aligning real estate
with business strategy, Edwards V. and Ellison L.,
Blackwell Publishing, 2004
Corporate Property Strategy – integral to corporate
business strategy, Roulac S., 2001 Access document
at: http://ideas.repec.org/a/jre/issued/v22n1-
22001p129-152.html
Corporate real estate as a human resource management
tool, Martin P. and Black R., Journal of CRE Vol 8 (2),
Emerald Publishing, 2006
Corporate real estate asset management – strategy and
implementation, Haynes B P. and Nunnington N., Estate
Gazette, 2010
DTLR Implementation of Asset Management Plans and
Corporate Capital Strategies: Baseline Report, 2002
Access the document at: www.communities.gov.uk/
documents/localgovernment/pdf/135475.pdf
Exploring corporate strategy text and cases, Johnson G.
and Scholes K., Harlow; Prentice-Hall, 1999
Facilities Change Management, Finch E., Wiley Blackwell,
2012
Facilities Management – Innovation and Performance,
Alexander K., Atkin B., Brocher J. and Haugen T., Spon
Press, 2004
Facilities Management – Theory and Practice, Alexander
K., E & F N Spon, 1996
Facilities Management and the Business of Space,
McGregor W. and Then D.S., Arnold, 1999
Facilities Management Handbook (Fourth Edition), Booty
F., Butterworth Heinemann, 2006
Facilities Management Manuals A best practice guide,
Armstrong J., CIRIA, 2002
Facilities Management Towards Best Practice (Second
Edition), Barrett P. and Baldry D., Blackwell, 2003
60 RICS guidance note
Facilities Manager’s Desk Reference, Wiggins J.M., Wiley
Blackwell, 2010
Gateway Reviews by OGC: a series of papers and case
studies on topics including:
• policy development and implementation
• organisational change and other change initiatives
• acquisition programmes and projects
• property/construction developments
• IT enabled business change; and
• procurement, using or establishing framework
arrangements.
Access to these documents at: www.ogc.gov.uk/what_
is_ogc_gateway_review.asp
Government Asset Management Committee,
New South Wales Access documents at: www.gamc.
nsw.gov.au/default.asp?PageID=2
Government Property Unit Access to documents at:
www.bis.gov.uk/policies/government-property-unit
Green Book, Appraisal and Evaluation in Central
Government, HM Treasury, 2003 Access to document at:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_greenbook_index.htm
Guidance for Improved Asset Management, Federal Real
Property Council, FRPC, 2004
High Performing Property: Route map to asset
management excellence Access this document at:
www.ogc.gov.uk/better_asset_management_efficiency_
in_property_asset_management.asp
Hot Property: Getting the best from local authority assets,
Audit Commission, 2000 Access this document at:
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/housing/
Pages/hotproperty.aspx
Improving the Efficiency of Central Government’s Office
Property, NAO, 2007 Access to a portfolio of documents
at: www.nao.org.uk/publications/0708/improving_the_
efficiency_of_ce.aspx
International Infrastructure Management Manual (UK
Edition), The Institute of Asset Management, 2002
International Infrastructure Management Manual, 2011
Edition (New Zealand) Details of this publication and
other documents at: www.nams.org.nz
International Total Occupancy Cost Code, Hedley C.,
IPD Occupiers Property Databank, 2006 www.ipd.com/
portals/7/downloads/IPD_Cost_Code_v4_Deutsch_
Englisch.pdf
Justifying sustainable buildings, Beard J. and Wolf E.,
Journal of CRE, 2006 Access document at: www.
emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1556985

Leaner and Greener; Delivering effective estate
management, Westminster Sustainable Business Forum,
2011 Access to document at: www.policyconnect.org.uk/
sites/default/files/Final version - blacktype - Leaner and
Greener.pdf
Linking real estate decisions to corporate strategy, Nourse
H. O. and Roulac S. E., 1996 Access the documents at:
http://aux.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/jrer/papers/pdf/past/
vol08n04/v08p475.pdf
Managing Agents Sustainability Toolkit. Better Buildings
Partnership, 2011.
Managing Facilities and Real Estate, Theriault M.,
Woodstone Press, Toronto, 2010.
Managing Government Property Assets: International
Experiences Kaganova O. and McKellar J., (eds), Urban
Institute Press, 2006
Managing Public Sector Real Estate Assets, Volume 12
No3, Emerald, 2010
Managing Public Sector Real Estate Assets, Volume 13
No1, Emerald, 2011
Measuring Performance in the Management of Local
Authority Property: A Research Report, DETR, 1999
National Audit Office publications: Getting value for money
from construction projects through design: How auditors
can help; Good practice in PFI property management
deals; Good practice in selling publicly owned assets;
Good practice in the application of risk management –
self-assessment questions for departments; Innovation
in PFI Financing: The Treasury Building Project; Joining
Up to Improve Public Services; Making joint ventures
work; Modernising Construction; Purchasing Professional
Services; Ten key questions departments need to consider
in managing the risk of policies not delivering what is
intended; Using call centres to deliver public services.
Access to documents at: www.nao.org.uk
Office accommodation management framework, Brisbane,
Queensland, Department of Public Works, 2003
Operational and organisational issues facing CRE
Executives and managers, Carn N., Black R. and
Rabianski J., 1999 Access this document via: http://ares.
metapress.com/content/c804372m8p462rhh/?references
Mode=Show
Operational Efficiency Programme, HMT, 2009 Access to
document at: www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/shex/files/
oep_final_report_210409_pu728.pdf
Property efficiency solutions, Telereal-Trillium,
SQW Consulting, 2010 Access to document at:
www.telerealtrillium.com/uploads/fileGallery/Property
Efficiency Solutions Report (1).pdf
Property in business – a waste of space? Bootle R. and
Kaylan S., RICS Books, 2002
rics.org
Property management; a customer focused approach,
Edington G., Houndmills, Macmillan, 1997
Property Management Performance Monitoring, Avis M.
et al, Reading and Oxford Brookes Universities, GTI, 1993
Property Resource Management, Avis M., and Gibson V.,
Reading and Oxford Brookes Universities, GTI, 1995
Public Sector Property Asset Management Guidelines
(Second Edition), Jones K. and White A.D., RICS, 2012
Public sector property strategies within Australia, Warren
C. M. J., 2002 (paper presented to CIB W70 Facilities
Management and Asset Maintenance Applying and
Extending the Global Knowledge Base, Glasgow)
Access document at: www.prres.net/Papers/Warren_
Corporate_Property_Strategies_in_the_Federal_Public_
Sector.pdf
Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work, Kaplan R. S. and
Norton D. P., Harvard Business Review, Sept–Oct 1993
Raising the Bar – Enhancing the strategic role of facilities
management, Ware J.P. and Carder P., RICS, 2012
Real Estate Asset Management – Operational Property
Assets and Facilities Support Services as a Business
Resource, Then D.S., LAP Lambert, 2012
Real Estate in corporate strategy, Weatherhead M., New
York, Palgrave, 1997
Reinventing the workplace, Becker F., and Joroff M., IDRC,
Atlanta, GA, 1995
Reinventing the workplace (Second Edition), Worthington
J., Architectural Press, 2006
Releasing Resources to the Front Line, Gershon P., 2004
Access to document at: www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/
Releasing_resources_to_frontlines.pdf
RICS guidance note: Building maintenance - planning,
strategy and procurement, 2nd edition, 2009
RICS guidance note: Sustainability: improving
performance in existing buildings, 1st edition, 2013
RICS guidance note: The strategic role of facilities
management in business performance, 2nd edition, 2011
RICS information paper: Facilities management
information and data management, 2011
RICS information paper: Inclusion, equality and the built
environment: a glossary of terms, 1st edition, 2012
RICS information paper: Managing organisational change,
1st edition, 2011
RICS information paper: TUPE: Information for property
managers, 2nd edition, 2013
RICS guidance note 61
 Strategic facilities management

RICS Public Sector Asset Management Guidelines, Jones
K., and White A. D., RICS, 2007 Access to a portfolio of
documents at: www.rics.org/publicsector
Room for Improvement: Strategic Asset Management in
Local Government, AC, 2009 Access to document at:
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/
Pages/roomforimprovement17jun2009.aspx
Service Charges in Commercial Property (Second Edition),
RICS Practice Standard/Code of Practice, 2011
State purchasing policy, Department of Public Works,
Queensland Government, April 2011
Strategic Asset Management Framework Upgrade,
Department of Treasury, Government of Western Australia,
December 2010 www.treasury.wa.gov.au/cms/content.
aspx?id=1269
Strategic Issues in Public-Private Partnerships,
Bult-Spiering M. and Dewulf G., Blackwell, 2006
Total Facilities Management (Third Edition), Atkin B. and
Brooks A., Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
Total Place – a whole area approach to public services,
HM Treasury, 2010 Access document at: www.hm-
treasury.gov.uk/d/total_place_report.pdf
Total Quality Management, Oakland J. S., Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003
Working beyond Walls – The government workplace as
an agent of change, OGC, 2008 Access to document at:
www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/workingbeyondwalls.pdf
Working without Walls – An insight into the transforming
government workplace, OGC, 2004 Access this
document at: www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/cp0039_
working_without_walls.pdf
Workplace Strategies and Facilities Management, Best R.,
Langston C., and de Valance G., Butterworth Heineman,
2003

Strategic Management of Built Facilities, Langston C. and
Lauge-Kristensen R., Butterworth, Heinemann, 2002
Strategic Management of the Fifth Resource – Corporate
Real Estate, IDRC, 1993
Worth the Risk, AC, 2001 Access the document at:
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/
Pages/worththerisk.aspx

Strategic Property Management: How Can Local

Authorities Develop a Property Strategy? Gibson V.,
Property Management, Vol. 12, No: 3, pp.9 – 14, Emerald
Publishing, 1994

Strategy and place: Managing corporate real estate and

facilities for competitive advantage, O’Mara M., New York,
Free Press.

Sustainable Practice for Facilities Managers, Shah S.,

Blackwell, 2007

Technology for Facilities Managers, Teicholz E., J. Wiley &

Sons, 2013

The Balance Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action,

Kaplan R. S. and Norton D. P., Cambridge, MA, HBS Press

The Business Excellence Model: EFQM Excellence Model

Access at: www.efqm.org/en

The Efficiency Report: Report by Sir Philip Green, 2010

Access document at: download.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
efficiency/sirphilipgreenreview.pdf

The Intelligent Client Function, Howarth A., GPU, 2011

The strategic role of facilities management in business

performance (1st Edition), RICS, 2009

Think profit, Act property, Evans M. and Weatherhead M.,

RICS Corporate Occupiers Group, 1999

Total Asset Management, New South Wales Treasury,

2011 Access a portfolio of TAMS documents at:
www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/tam/tam-intro

62 RICS guidance note

 rics.org

Standards
EN ISO 9000 Quality management systems —
Fundamentals and vocabulary (ISO 9000:2005)

ISO 14001 Environmental management systems —

Requirements with guidance for use

ISO 15392 Sustainability in building construction

— General principles

ISO 15686-5 Buildings and constructed assets —

Service-life planning — Part 5: Life cycle costing

ISO 28000:2007 specifies the requirements for a security

management system, including those aspects critical to
security assurance of the supply chain.

NS 3454 Life cycle costs for building and civil engineering

work — Principles and classification

BS8536 2010 Facility management briefing, Code of

practice

BS8572 2011 Guide to the procurement of facility-related

services

BS EN 15221-1 Facilities Management: terms and

definitions

BS EN 15221-2 Guidance on how to prepare facility

management agreements

BS EN 15221-3 Guidance on Quality in Facilities

Management

BS EN 15221-4 Taxonomy, Classification and Structures

in Facilities Management

BS EN 15221-5 Guidance on Facilities Management

Processes

BS EN 15221-6 Area and Space Measurement in

Facilities Management

BS EN 15221-7 Guidelines for Performance

Benchmarking in Facilities Management

RICS guidance note 63

 Strategic facilities management

BIFM Good Practice Guides

Guides are available on the following subjects through the
BIFM website: www.bifm.org.uk

Benchmarking Implementing a sustainability policy Guarding contracts

Business continuity Inclusive access Project financial appraisal Space planning
Disability and the Equality Act and management

Commercial removals Refurbishing office interiors

Vacant property
Customer care Catering contracts Risk management
management
FM procurement Cleaning contracts Security management

64 RICS guidance note

rics.org

RICS guidance note 65

 Advancing standards in land, property and construction.
RICS is the world’s leading qualification when it comes to professional
standards in land, property and construction.
In a world where more and more people, governments, banks and commercial
organisations demand greater certainty of professional standards and ethics,
attaining RICS status is the recognised mark of property professionalism.
Over 100 000 property professionals working in the major established and
emerging economies of the world have already recognised the importance of
RICS HQ securing RICS status by becoming members.
Parliament Square, London SW1P 3AD RICS is an independent professional body originally established in the UK by
United Kingdom Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed to setting and upholding
the highest standards of excellence and integrity – providing impartial,
Worldwide media enquiries:
authoritative advice on key issues affecting businesses and society.
e pressoffice@rics.org
RICS is a regulator of both its individual members and firms enabling it to
Contact Centre: maintain the highest standards and providing the basis for unparalleled client
e contactrics@rics.org confidence in the sector.
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